Ted Ligety, the self-proclaimed mediocre teenager who ended up with the most gold medals among American male ski racers, is making one last unique arc in a career defined by them.
Ligety will retire after the world championships that begin Tuesday in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. His last race: a giant slalom on Feb. 19, exactly seven years after winning the second of his two Olympic gold medals and more than 17 years after his World Cup debut.
Ligety, 36, began this season planning to ski through the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. He changed his mind over the last few weeks.