**Austrian ski star Hermann Maier has announced his retirement, blaming physical problems for his decision.**The 36-year-old won Olympic gold in the Super-G and Giant Slalom events in 1998 at Nagano and also claimed a silver and a bronze in 2006 in Torino.
He won three world titles in Super-G and downhill in 1999, and in the Giant Slalom in 2005. He also claimed two silvers in 2001 and a bronze in 2003.
In addition, Maier won 54 World Cup races and clinched four overall titles.
Maier injured his knee last March but resumed training and had been targeting a return to the World Cup at the end of November at Canada’s Lake Louise.
But he said: “I have decided to bring to an end my career as a competitive skier. After a lot of thought, the decision just made itself spontaneously.”
Nicknamed ‘The Herminator’, Maier competed on the circuit from 1996.