Canadian Steve Omischl has decided to hang up his skis.

The 31-year-old North Bay, Ont., native said the years of competing on the freestyle circuit has taken a physical toll on his body.

Omischl is retiring to become a youth coach with a focus on developing kids at the grassroots level.

Omischl leaves as one of the most dominant aerialist the sport has ever seen.

Aside from the four FIS crystal globes in aerials, Omischl has won four world championship medals, including a world title in 2005. He also earned 40 World Cup medals during his illustrious career and won a pair of overall freestyle championships.

"This sport has given me everything and it would be a shame for me to walk away," Omischl said in a release. "It would be selfish and dumb. It's time to help the next group of kids."

Never one to waste any time, Omischl has enrolled six skiers — ranging in age from nine to 12 — to his training program in Whistler, B.C.

"The challenge at Whistler is that there are so many divergent opportunities," he said in the release. "My job is to make aerials fun, cool and interesting enough to get them hooked."

Despite his numerous achievements, Omischl couldn't find that same success at the Olympics. His best performance came at the Vancouver Games in February, where his finished eighth. Omischl finished 20th four years ago in Turin, Italy, and was 11th at the Salt Lake City Games.

"To see what I was capable of in the years coming up to the [Vancouver] Games — I know I'll never be any better than I was," he said. "It's kind of a sad prospect that it's all downhill from here!"

Omischl hasn't ruled out a return to competition, but said his body is "done," after years in the sport.

Source: cbc.ca