Palanders Olympic dream over, considers retirement

Palander's left leg has been injured for a year and a half and he was operated on twice in the past few months.

Finnish skier Kalle Palander said Wednesday persistent injury had ended his dream of competing at the 2010 winter Olympic Games and that he may soon consider retiring from the sport.

- I can't repel the sadness caused by the thought that I will not be able to compete for Olympic medals - in Vancouver in February, the 32 year-old skier said in a letter published on Ski Sport Finland's website.

Palander's left leg has been injured for a year and a half and he was operated on twice in the past few months.

The skier hurt his left shin again in October while training for the giant slalom at this season's World Cup opener in Solden, Austria.

Palander was hoping to return to the slopes in his home country for the slalom at Levi on November 15, but had to also pull out.

- Unfortunately the free run in Levi yesterday showed that there is no chance to ski with that leg. Therefore I will not compete in Levi - he said.

- I feel empty and immensely sad. It feels like all that hard work was done for nothing. Everything was going extremely well a month ago. There were no pains in the leg and runs were going well, but now everything has changed. -

The injury-plagued skier said he was now pondering what to do in the future and that - perhaps sometime in spring (he) will be able to say what Kalle Palander will do in the future.-

Palander has won 14 World Cup events (10 slaloms and 4 giant slaloms) throughout his career and Vancouver would have been his fourth Olympic Games.

He was first operated in February 2008 following a stress-inflicted fracture.

Surgeons then had to operate again after two screws that were inserted during the initial operation had come loose and penetrated his bone.

His last World Cup success was the giant slalom in Alta Badia, Italy, in December 2007.