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.

The 27-year-old from Plymouth was the first British male snowboarder to compete at the Winter Olympics and recorded three top ten finishes in the World Cup.

Wakeham said: “At the end of each season for the last few years I have wanted to quit, but people always seem to talk me into staying with promises of funding and sponsorship. But now I am keen to get a job with stability and a regular income.”

Wakeham won the Europa Cup in 2005 with his best World Cup performance being fifth in Leysin in January 2006.

Alpine skiing star Anja Paerson says she will retire from the sport in 2010. “That’s my goal — to quit next year,” the 27-year-old Swede said in a TV interview on Sunday with Swedish network TV4.