Britain’s number one Downhill skier, Finlay Mickel, retires

Finlay Mickel, one of Britain’s most successful Downhill skiers has today (12 May 2009) announced his retirement from international ski racing.

The 31 year old Scot from Edinburgh has been racing with the British Alpine Ski Team since 1996 and is one of Britain’s most successful skiers, joining the world’s elite by recording top ten results at World Cup competitions.

Mickel has taken time to come to the decision to retire, commenting “It’s a happy and sad day for me. I can look back on a very illustrious career and put myself in a small group of British skiers who have made it into the top ten in World Cup competitions " joining legends such as Konrad Bartelski and the Bell brothers”.

“For the past two years my focus has been on recovering from injuries sustained at World Cup races. Coming back to racing this year and knowing the commitment required to get back to top flight racing and the risks you have to take to do it " I don’t feel I can justify that anymore, especially now I have my two year-old son, Jenson, to consider. I want to be based at home more and be more involved with my young family”.

“I would like to thank all those who have helped me along the way, but especially my family as the support they have given me throughout my career has allowed me to achieve the successes I have had. I would also like to thank SnowsportGB and all my coaches, the Scottish Institute of Sport, the Scottish Ski Team, Scottish Ski Club, LSRA, Atomic, Südtriol, Ski Independence and A.F. Noble and Son Subaru Garage. Without their long-term support I could not have continued to perform at the highest level. I would also like to say a big thank you to all the physios I have been working with for the last two years”.

“I still have a great love for the sport and want to continue my involvement in skiing in the future and give back to the sport what it has given me " I want to help the youth of today fight to get the results of tomorrow”.

“I would like to step into coaching and also become more involved with commentary, something I have found comes naturally to me from the experience I’ve already had”.

Referring to Mickel’s decision to retire, Graham Bell, Alpine Director for SnowsportGB commented “Finlay has carried on the tradition of British Downhill skiers that dates back four decades to Konrad Bartelski. His eleventh place at the World Championships on a very demanding course in Bormio proved he could challenge the best in the world. He was a consistent top thirty performer on the World Cup circuit with his best result tenth in Wengen, the longest and most physically demanding course on the World Cup circuit. His knowledge and experience will be missed on the British Alpine Ski Team and we hope that he will continue his involvement for the foreseeable future”.

British Alpine Ski Team head coach, Mark Tilston, added "It is always sad to see athletes retire especially ones you have watched develop from a young age, however Finlay has had a great career and although challenged with a series of injuries over the last three years he has fought hard to get back on top. Finlay made great steps forwards to get into the top World Cup group in Downhill, which is a discipline that is still impressive for me to watch with the speed, the jumps and forces that these guys ski down the mountain with. His World Championship ski in Bormio when he came eleventh really helped the younger skiers open there eyes and believe that British men can mix it with the very best of them. It has been a real honour to have worked with Finlay over the years and I am confident that he will go on to see many future successes."

Mickel has been battling with injury for the past couple of seasons, including a fractured left ankle, ruptured right achilies tendon and right ankle fracture, and a fracture to his right tibia plateau, but managed to finish his career on a high by winning the Downhill title at the recent British Land National Ski Championships for the sixth time. His career has also seen him take the Super G title on five occasions, the Overall title three times and the Giant Slalom title once.

He has recorded seventy-two results at World Cup level, of which twenty-five were top thirties including his tenth place in Wengen. He has competed in four World Ski Championships, recording his best performance in Bormio, Italy in 2005 finishing eleventh.