Svindal skis into retirement, another silver in the bag

NORWEGIAN colossus Aksel Lund Sv indal will go down in t he annals of a lpine sk iing as one of t he ver y best a f ter cla i ming world si lver i n his fa rewel l dow n h i l l r ace on Saturday.

Coming in just two-hundredths of a second behind teammate and close friend Kjetil Jansrud was the perfect send-off for the 36-year-old Svindal (pictured, AFP).

Svindal has been one of the stars of the ski circuit with 11 titles (overall-2, downhill-2, superG-5, giant slalom-1, combined-1), 36 victories (14 downhill, 17 super-G, 4 giant slalom, 1 combined) and 80 podiums in 17 seasons on the World Cup.

In addition to being a t wo- t i me ove r a l l World Cup champion on (2007, 2009), he is also a fivetime world champion on i n downhill, giant slalom m and super combined, and d won Olympic golds in the downhill wnhill (2018) and super-G (2010). 10).

Standing 1.89m (6’2”) ”) tall, Svindal said he was prepared epared for the next stage of his life.

“I think I’ll miss it not ot in a sad way, in a way that is s ‘That was awesome’,” he said. d. “But even good things come e to an end and you can think back at all the good memories.” ” The ever-modest and affable Svindal, be it speaking in his native Norwegian or fluent English or German, pinpointed re s p e c t a s the one t h i n g h e

wanted t o t a k e wi t h h i m from skiing.

“This is an awes o m e s p o r t , not just t h e racing part, but the respec respect between the racer racers,” he said.

“Th “There’s a lot of thing things this sport can be really r proud of and I’m part of that s por po t s o t ha t’s something som I want to tr y and take with wit me into other things thin I do.

“I hope I contributed on that side in the sp sport as well.” Nor wegian w teamm a t e a n d l o n g - t i m e Wo r l d Cu p ‘ A t t a c k i n g Viking’ confidant Jansrud was full of praise for Svindal.

“There are not many people who get to retire with such an amazing career,” he said.

Svindal made his World Cup debut in 2002 and went on to become the oldest Olympic alpine ski gold medallist when he swept to victory in the 2018 O l y m p i c d o w n h i l l i n Pyeongchang.

Inbetween, many kilometres of downhill skiing were covered by the racer credited as an outstanding role model and driving force behind the Norwegian team’s winning philosophy of keeping it simple.

Svindal retires as one of the most decorated skiers ever, having being crowned world champion five times, twice picking up the crystal globe for best overall skier, as well as winning a medal of each colour at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

He is a complete competitor who has also had to overcome some horrific injuries, none less so than when he crashed in Beaver Creek in 2007. He also sat out the 2015 season and most of 2016 because of injuries.

But Svindal is known for his supreme physical conditioning, and each time he bounced back.