Larisa Yurkiw of Owen Sound, Ont., competes at a World Cup event in March in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. She finished third overall on the downhill circuit this past season, but was skiing in pain.FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP / Getty Images
Larisa Yurkiw, Canada's top downhill ski racer, is retiring at 28.
This past winter, Yurkiw finished third over all on the women's World Cup downhill circuit, among the best seasons of any Canadian downhiller ever. But she had long struggled with injuries. In 2009, she wrecked her left knee in a crash that could have been career-ending but she rallied in two years of convalescence. In the past several years, she had trouble with her right knee and had surgery to repair it last Friday.
Rather than risk more damage while chasing a downhill title next winter, or an Olympic medal two years from now, Yurkiw chose retirement. She announced it on Instagram and Twitter late Wednesday.
"Health has the final say," Yurkiw said in an interview.
"It's a long time coming. I've preached so much to push hard for what you believe in and yet it started to feel like a squeeze. My intention is not to run this into the ground."
This past season – when she was consistently strong, with two second-place finishes, one third, and two fourths – she skied in pain. It limited her ability to prepare and train. And finishing third over all – rising from 10th the season before – she got a closer look at the work necessary to reach the top, and the effort, physical and otherwise, it would require. She instead chose retirement.
"The last two years have been a huge challenge," said Yurkiw, who grew up in Owen Sound, Ont.
On Instagram, she put it this way: "I do not have the health to test the limit any longer. And the limit must be tested daily in this sport if you want gains. Not just a little bit, but you need to be willing to lose everything."
Reaching the top three on the downhill circuit was also freeing. "This past season, I clearly had unfinished business," Yurkiw said.
One factor that also made the retirement decision less difficult is the experience she has gained in business since 2013.
After the 2009 crash and recovery, she skied poorly in the 2012-13 season – she couldn't crack the top 30 – and was then dropped from the national team.
She forged on alone, creating Team Larisa Racing, hiring her own coach and raising money to fund the effort from sponsors. It cost several hundred thousand dollars for each season.
Yurkiw plans to pursue business, starting with applying to study for an MBA.
In her Instagram post, she talked about her motto of "ski fast, be brave." She wrote: "Being brave for me is stepping out. And if there's a pull, it's my passion for business."
She also cited a veteran coach who once told her: "When skiing ends, life begins."
"I feel both accomplished and relieved," she wrote, "as I turn on my slow-cooker and learn about a whole new world."