One horrific downhill crash two years ago in Kitzbuehel, Austria, altered the course of U.S. skier Scott Macartney’s career.
Still, the two-time Olympian is hoping he’s remembered for more than just that spill as he steps away from racing after 12 years with the national team.
“I don’t want Kitzbuehel to be a highlight,” the 32-year-old Macartney told The Associated Press on Thursday in a telephone interview. “I understand that it’s a crazy race, a crazy crash. But skiing shouldn’t be reduced to crashes. Skiing should stand on more than that.”
Crash aside, Macartney, of Crystal Mountain, Wash., has turned in a noteworthy career, starting 98 World Cup races and earning two podium finishes. He also finished seventh in the super-G at the 2006 Turin Olympics.
This season has been a struggle for Macartney, who didn’t make the roster for the Vancouver Games last month. Hip, knee and head injuries over the past few years have taken quite a toll on him.
“It wasn’t that I really wanted to quit. My body was telling me it was time,” he said. “I was starting to ski, subconsciously, to protect those things.”
His crash in Kitzbuehel can’t be forgotten, partly because it’s become a YouTube attraction. Macartney lost control at nearly 90 mph and smacked his head on the ground, his unconscious body sliding toward the finish line.
He was kept in a medically induced coma to allow swelling in his brain to ease. After a few days in the hospital, he was sent home to recover from a concussion.
“It’s hard to distance yourself from that,” said Macartney, who ended up getting a measure of revenge as he successfully skied the daunting course this season. “It was a big deal.”
Macartney was skiing well leading up to the spill in January 2008, too, having finished third during a downhill race in Val Gardena, Italy, the month before.
The crash stopped his momentum for the season—maybe more.
“It changed the course of my career,” Macartney explained.
That was followed by a torn ACL in his left knee last season when he wiped out in Wengen, Switzerland.
This season, Macartney hasn’t finished better than 23rd. And when the Olympic team was announced, he was left off.
“This is a tough team to make,” said Macartney, who finished 25th in the super-G during the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. “You can’t be skiing at 90 percent and slide onto a team anymore.”
Macartney went up to Whistler to support his teammates. At the same time, he did some soul searching. With his body beginning to betray him, he decided to wrap up his career.
He informed his family, teammates and friends, but kept the secret close.
His final race was in Kvitfjell, Norway, earlier this month, where he finished 41st in the super-G.
On the plane ride home from Europe, Macartney was asked what he did for a living.
He had no response.
“For 12 years, I would say I skied for the national team,” said Macartney, who has an economics degree from Dartmouth. “Now what is my identity? Do I say I’m a former racer? … It’s tough.”
With his skiing career wrapped up, Macartney has a few ideas he would like to explore. For one, he wants to start an online coaching site that offers ski tips.
He also plans to continue working with the World Cup Dreams Foundation, an organization created in 2005 to subsidize Alpine athletes not completely funded by the U.S. team.
As far as skiing is concerned, he won’t abandon the sport. Hardly. It still means too much to him.
This weekend, he’s taking part in a fundraiser at Crystal Mountain to benefit the American Cancer Society.
After that, Macartney just may take a vacation.
“Somewhere warm,” he said, laughing.
