Австриецът Херман Майер, носител на два златни олимпийски медала и трикратен световен шампион по ски-алпийски дисциплини, съобщи на 13-ти окомври във Виена, че прекратява кариерата си на 36 години, седем месеца след като контузи коляното си. "Реших да прекратя от днес кариерата си на скиор", заяви на пресконференция във Виена големият алпиец. Контузен в коляното през март, Майер възнамеряваше да се върне в състезанията за Световната купа в края на ноември в Лейк Луис /Канада/. "Но след кратък размисъл това решение дойде спонтанно", каза Майер, който на 7 декември ще навърши 37 години.

Rolex Testimonee Hermann Maier, foto credit (c) ROLEX

Hermann Maier 1972 (AUT), Hahnenkamm-Race Kitzbuehel 2009, Super-G, foto credit (c) ROLEX/Kurt Arrigo

Херман Майер, наричан "Херминатора", има 54 победи за 13 сезона в стартовете за световната купа,която е печелил четири пъти - 1998, 2000, 2001 и 2004 година. Майер направи дубъл - златни медали в супергигантския слалом и в гигантския слалом, на зимните олимпийски игри в Нагано /Япония/ през 1998 година. През лятото на 2001 година Майер претърпя тежка катастрофа с мотоциклет и имаше опасност да ампутират десния му крак. Две години след катастрофата "Херминатора" се завърна с победа в супергигантския слалом в Кицбюел /Австрия/ през 2003 година. На 30 ноември миналата година 35-годишният Майер постигна своята 54-та победа в старт за световната купа в Лейк Луис, близо три години след 53-та си победа в Гармиш Партенкирхен /Германия/. Възстановяването на "Херминатора" през последните месеци бе нарушено от падане при планинско колоездене. Херман Майер е роден на 7 декември 1972 година в Алтенмаркт /Австрия/, висок е 180 сантиметра и тежи 89 килограма. 

БТА
13 октомври 2009

     Кариера:

     Олимпийски игри:
супергигантски слалом - 1-ви през 1998 година,2-ри през 2006 година
гигантски слалом: 1-ви през 1998 година, 3-ти през 2006 година

     Световни първенства:
спускане - 1-ви през 1999, 2-ри през 2001 година
суупергигантски слалом - 1-ви през 1999, 2-ри през 2003, 3-ти през 2001 година
гигантски слалом: 1-ви през 2005 година 
 
     Световна купа:
Генерално класиране - 1-ви през 1998,2000,2001 и 2004
година, 3-ти през 1999 и 2005 година _
малка световна купа на спускане: 1-ви през 2000 и 2001
година, 2-ри 1998 година, 3-ти през 2004 и 2005 година
малка световна купа на супергигантски слалом: 1-ви през
1998,1999,2000,2001 и 2004 година, 2-ри през 2005 и 2006 година
малка световна купа на гигантски слалом: 1-ви през 1998,
2000 и 2001 година,3-ти 1999 година
победи: 54 /15 на спускане, 24 на супергигантски слалом, 14
на гигантски слалом, 1 на алпийска комбинация/.

***

HERMANN MAIER: Crashes, awesome performances and incredible comebacks, the Herminator had it all

Legends come and go but few have the charisma and appeal of Rolex Testimonee Hermann Maier, let alone the success.  Maier's ski racing career was the stuff born of sheer determination and he rose from being a forerunner to becoming a super hero. But like all good books, this chapter of his life has now come to a close.

Maier was simply outstanding. No matter his result, he was the racer that everybody wanted to beat and those in the press area wanted to listen to. Few racers commanded that attention but Maier had time for the Austrian media and then for the rest of the world. He was always courteous, yet knew that since his motorcycle accident in 2001 he has been living on borrowed time. Sitting in the press conference after his miraculous 2005 win in the GS at the World Championships in Bormio, Maier seemed shocked that he had won. This was a man who was brash and daring, yet who was trying to understand the amazing feats he had accomplished.

For many Maier was the character that the sport craved at a time when it was almost devoid of personalities. After winning four of the five crystal globes at the end of the 2000 - 2001 season, Maier had raised the bar substantially and no one could touch him. His career brought him ten medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships as well as 54 World Cup wins. Maier won the Overall World Cup four times, the Downhill title twice, Super G title five times and the Giant Slalom title three times. But his legendary status comes from his repeated performances in Kitzbuehel: five wins and a second out of seven starts at this superb location. Super G Friday in Kitzbuehel became synonymous with Hermann Maier and then there was also Nagano Olympics and that fall. The fact that he got up to win Gold in the next race is the sort of thing that super heroes are made of.

Last season, despite winning again in Beaver Creak, USA, one could see that it was getting harder for the great athlete. This was a man who was used to fighting it out for the wins, not scrapping for top ten places. After a disappointing opening race in Solden in the GS, he dropped out of the discipline and focused on the speed races and in particular the Super G. Maier would go on to finish fourth in the World Cup and was in with a shout of the Crystal Globe up to the last race.

While talking with Maier during an exclusive interview for his sponsor, Rolex, in Kitzbuehel in 2007, Maier answered questions as though it was the first time he had heard any of them. He comes from Flachau in neighbouring Salzburgerland, Austria, yet he admitted that Kitzbuehel has a special place in his heart. He had just picked up his trophy for the runner-up spot in the Super G and had been mobbed by the infamous Hahnenkamm crowd - he is their hero, their Superhero. Despite finishing 12th in 2009, Maier still clearly received the biggest roar as he came over Hausbergkannte and into the view of the massive crowd in the finish area.

Despite injuring his knee back in March, Maier had been planning to return to speed racing in November and had resumed snow training. "I came to the conclusion after a few days of mulling it over that I should draw a line under my career as a ski racer as of today," he said. "It was important for me to get healthy and so that's why I'm bringing down the curtain. It wasn't an easy decision. In fact it was a very tough one and it's difficult to let go. I'm ending a career which as a kid I could have hardly imagined ever turning out better."

International Press Information
Hahnenkamm-News
KPMS
October 13, 2009
Kitzbuehel, Austria

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