The idea was that the giant slalom in the Alpine World Cup in Cortina would be Ted Ligety's last competition.

The American has competed in the World Cup for 17 years but was injured in the end - and now it is clear that he is not allowed to choose his career end.

His back hurts too much and he is forced to adjust as he has major problems with both herniated discs and sciatica.

"Yesterday I woke up with the worst pain of my life," he writes on Instagram.

He writes that his back has controlled his skiing for the past six years and that the operation he performed four years ago helped, but not enough.

“To be honest with myself, my back never became the same again.

Okay became good and bad became okay.

I tricked myself that it would be strong enough for me to win ", he writes.

For 36-year-old Ligety, who among other things won two Olympic golds and five World Cup golds, the focus is now on being restored to be able to play and ski with their children while they were growing up.

CLIP: Corinne Suter won the World Cup downhill race:

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Corinne Suter won the World Cup downhill Photo: Bildbyrån