On April 30, Park City cross country skier Rosie Brennan announced her retirement from the World Cup and Olympic levels of the sport after 12 seasons and three Games.  Brennan, 37 years old, was a mainstay atop the sport from 2020-24. She was hampered by a lingering, somewhat mysterious health condition the last two seasons, which made racing certain races nearly impossible because it was limiting blood flow to her legs.  Even with the illness, Brennan was still a top 50 skier in the world the last two seasons: 40th in 2024-25 and 49th this past season. She competed in three races at the Milano Cortina Olympics in February, finishing fifth on the 4×7.5 km relay team, and closed out her season at the Lake Placid, New York, World Cup in late March.  Brennan took some time after the season to reevaluate her career.  Ultimately deciding to call it a competitive career, Brennan says being able to return to school was a major factor in her decision. She will be beginning a masters in sports nutrition program at Liverpool John Moores University in Liverpool, England, in the fall.  “I wish I could have skied forever,” Brennan said. “But my body seems to have other plans. … I felt like I needed something different to focus on.” Brennan said she didn’t feel like there was a light at the end of the tunnel with her illness.  The Parkite had developed an interest in sports nutrition during her time on the circuit, noticing the impact it had on her skiing.  “It was a really cool opportunity for me,” Brennan said. “I wasn’t really sure that I was qualified. Obviously my practical experience is fairly high, but my academic experience in that realm is zero.” Brennan said the professors at Liverpool John Moores are excited to have someone with her lived experiences aboard. She hopes the degree will help enable her to stay around sports for the rest of her life.  Brennan may also ski some lower-level, longer distance races in the future. She noticed her body holds up better in endurance races, and she loves racing in new and exciting places around the world. Brennan also didn’t completely rule out a miraculous return to the circuit if her illness turns a sudden corner.  While Brennan still hasn’t been able to completely reflect on her career because of the abrupt nature of how it ended, she was proud of her resilience this season. She hopes she inspired others with that characteristic during her career. Brennan’s highest Olympic finish was a fourth place in a sprint race at the 2022 Beijing Games, and her best World Cup results were three wins, the most recent coming in late 2022.  “It’s still a bit fresh for me,” Brennan said. “I honestly still feel a lot of sadness about it, largely because it also impacts my everyday life; I don’t feel as good as I once did and that’s really hard.” Brennan, who first put on skis at 14, is proud she was able to carry forth her hopes and dreams for so long. She thanked Erik Flora, her coach for her entire career, for continuing to believe in her when she didn’t believe as much in herself, and the staff on the U.S. Ski Team. Brennan sees her teammates Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher’s medals at the Milano Cortina Olympics as proof that she and her peers left the state of the U.S. team in better shape than they found it.  “I certainly hope that people were inspired by my perseverance and by the length of my career,” Brennan said. “I hope they’re inspired to give themselves a chance as a result. I definitely hope my teammates see me as as a valuable resource, a teammate and someone that they enjoyed and learned from over my time.” The post Cross country skier Rosie Brennan dives deep about her retirement appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less