Two-time Olympic mogul skier Kristi Richards announces retirement

VANCOUVER – Two-time Olympic mogul skier Kristi Richards announced her retirement Friday.

Richards won the 2007 World Cup in Madonna, Italy, but the highlight of her career were the two Olympic appearances she made.After finishing seventh in 2006 in Turin, Italy, Richards qualified for the final in Vancouver in 2010 but a dramatic fall early in the run cut her dream of gold short.

Still, Richards proudly got up and finished her run, to the delight of a cheering crowd.

“My standout memories are definitely both from my Olympic experiences,” Richards said in a statement. “In 2010 standing in the gate, knowing I was ready, that I had poured everything I had into this moment, that I had the capability to win gold, that was the pinnacle of my career.”

The 29-year-old freestyle skier from Summerland, B.C., is leaving competitive sport to focus on managing an artisan store she opened with a friend in Pemberton, B.C. called One Earth Collection. She also plans to open a yoga studio and to go to school to become a registered nutritionist.