Double Olympic ski champion Tina Maze hangs up her skis

Two-time Olympic alpine skiing champion Tina Maze has announced her retirement from the sport.

Her decision brings an end to a glittering career that has spanned 17 years, although she did say she would compete in one more farewell race, a World Cup giant slalom on home soil in Maribor on January 7 – the venue of her professional debut as a 15-year old.

Over the course of her career the 33-year-old Slovenian won a total of 13 major championship medals and won the overall World Cup title in 2013.

During that season she won 11 races, took the Giant slalom and super-G titles, became only the sixth female skier to win events in all five Alpine disciplines and also broke the overall World Cup points record in a single season.

She beat the previous mark of 2,000, set by Austrian great Hermann Maier by 414 points.

Maze, who famously celebrated her victories with a cartwheel handspring, has not raced since March 2015 when she announced she was taking a season-long break to concentrate on her studies and follow other paths.

In total she won 26 world cup races, two Olympic gold medals and four world championship titles.