Star skier Guay retires

Erik Guay is ending his career at the same hill where he won his first World Cup medal 15 years ago.

Canada’s most decorated alpine skier announced his retirement Thursday as skiers participated in their second day of training for this weekend’s World Cup downhill at Lake Louise.

“Today is a bittersweet day as I close a chapter on what has been a significant part of my life; decades of striving to be the best ski racer in the world, representing my country around the globe, and being a member of an incredible team,” Guay said in a statement.

Guay told The Canadian Press last month that this would be his final ski season. He said he wanted to spend more time at home with his wife Karen and four daughters, who range in age from one to nine years old.

But the 37-year-old Montreal native decided to accelerate that timeline after he was 69th in Wednesday’s first training run with a time of one minute 51.36 seconds, 3.79 seconds behind pace-setter Christof Innerhofer. A news conference with Guay initially scheduled for today was moved up to Thursday.

The three-time Olympian earned 25 World Cup medals and captured three world championship medals, including two gold, over his career.

He won his first World Cup medal when he took silver in a downhill race at Lake Louise on Nov. 29, 2003.

His first victory came in 2007 in Garmisch where he won the men’s downhill. Guay won a coveted crystal globe in 2010 as the overall World Cup leader in super-G that season.