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KITZBUEHEL, Austria — German downhill skier Thomas Dressen is retiring at the age of 30 because of the lingering effects of injuries.
Dressen has five career wins in the World Cup, all in downhill, and placed a career-high second in the season-long downhill standings in 2020. The German news agency dpa reported Thursday that Dressen will race one last time in Saturday’s downhill in Kitzbuehel. A statement from the German ski federation confirmed he was retiring but didn’t specify exactly when.
Dressen’s first career World Cup win came in the storied and feared Kitzbuehel race in 2018. He was the first German man to win that race since 1979 and the first to win any World Cup downhill for 13 years. His last win was in 2020.
Dressen’s best result this season was 18th in super-G at Val Gardena last month. Injuries have repeatedly interrupted Dressen’s career, and he says knee problems, including the results of a severe knee ligament tear in a crash at Beaver Creek in 2018, mean he can no longer be competitive.
“For the last two years I’ve really tried everything and given everything to be able to take part in ski races again, but I have to confess that in these circumstances it doesn’t make sense anymore,” he said in a statement from the German ski federation. “This decision has been very hard for me because on the one hand, I’ve invested enormously in the sport and in every single (injury) rehab measure, and on the other hand, skiing was both a passion and a fulfillment for me.”
Dressen’s retirement comes a week after two high-profile crashes at Wengen, one for Alexis Pinturault in the super-G and one for Aleksander Aamodt Kilde in the downhill, which highlighted the dangers faced by top ski racers.