Olympic men’s halfpipe champion Nico Porteous, the first man from New Zealand to win a gold medal at the Winter Games, will not defend his title in Milan-Cortina next year after deciding to step back from competitive freestyle skiing.
The 23-year-old also won two Superpipe X-Games golds, a world title and five World Cup medals in a highly successful career which started in his early teens.
Porteous was New Zealand’s youngest Olympic medallist when he won a bronze as a 16-year-old at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games before making the breakthrough for his country’s men in Beijing three years ago.
“I’ve loved representing New Zealand. Wearing the fern and competing for my country has been the most incredible experience and I’m so proud of what I’ve achieved,” Porteous said in a statement.
“This wasn’t an easy decision to make but I’m excited to do something new and I feel like the time is right for me to look for a new challenge and new opportunities.”
Porteous said he would not be hanging up his skies but looking to move into filming, equipment development and different competitive events.
“I still love skiing and I want to keep skiing to the best of my abilities and keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in the sport,” he added.
“Ultimately, I’m ready for something new. What that looks like I’m not exactly sure (but I’m) excited to see what the next chapter looks like.”
Porteous said he would be cheering on New Zealand’s freeski team at next February’s Winter Olympics in Italy.
“It’s super inspiring to see this new batch of athletes coming through,” he said.
“The future of the sport is looking really bright in New Zealand and I can’t wait to see them in action in Milan-Cortina.”
