Aamodt, Maier leave Olympic future in doubt

Alpine ski legends Hermann Maier and Kjetil Andre Aamodt walked away from the Turin Games having enriched their medals haul - but the jury is out on whether this was their Olympic swansong.

Maier, who before the emergence of Bode Miller was alpine skiing's icon, failed to emulate his feats of Nagano in 1998 when he bounced back from a spectacular crash in the downhill to win double gold in the giant and super-G.

Hampered by flu from the start, Maier finished off the podium in the downhill, won by Frenchman Antoine Deneriaz, but bounced back to win silver in the super-G and bronze in the giant slalom.

His lack of gold left many wondering whether the 33-year-old 'Herminator', so called because of his sheer power and ability to bounce back from serious setbacks, has the hunger to go all the way until Vancouver in 2010.

Given the challenges he has had to overcome, Maier appeared sincere when he said after finishing second behind Aamodt in the super-G: "I'm extremely happy just to be able to take part in my second Olympic Games."

The fact is, Maier is lucky to be still skiing down slopes at speeds of up to 160 kph.

Maier remains coy on the subject, but insists he has not been thinking about retirement.

"As long as I'm having fun and not feeling too much pressure, then I will continue," he said.

Given his impact on the sport, Maier's absence from the Olympics in four years time would leave a gaping hole.

After beginning his World Cup career at the late age of 24, it took the powerfully-built former bricklayer from Flachau only two years to make his mark.

Two years after finishing 106th overall, he won the coveted crystal globe for the overall World Cup prize - a feat he repeated in 2001 and 2004.

Aamodt has trod a different path towards alpine greatness, but he, like Maier, insists retirement is not on his mind.

Regarded as shy, and unassuming, the 34-year-old from Oslo who now lives in Monaco, boasts an Olympic record that any skier would be proud of - eight Olympic medals and four Olympic golds from five editions.

Aamodt finished just off the podium in the men's downhill, in which he injured his knee thus forcing him to pull out of defending his combined crown.

He bounced back in time to successfully defend the super-G crown he took from the absent Maier in 2002, leaving a group of younger rivals, including Miller, well out of contention.

The Norwegian will hope to go all the way until the world ski championships in Are, Sweden in 2007.

After that, it is anybody's guess.

"I don't have any plans for retirement," he said when asked if he would still be around next year after his super-G win.

Source: China Daily