{"id":2455147,"date":"2020-02-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-28T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=321743"},"modified":"2020-02-28T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-02-28T07:00:00","slug":"aspen-world-cup-skier-wiley-maple-a-2018-olympian-retiring-due-to-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/aspen-world-cup-skier-wiley-maple-a-2018-olympian-retiring-due-to-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"Aspen World Cup skier Wiley Maple, a 2018 Olympian, retiring due to injury"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.8474434199497\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-321743-772\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-1024x660.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Christophe Ena\/AP | AP | Aspen's Wiley Maple sticks out his tongue in the finish area after men's downhill training at the 2018 Winter Olympics on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Jeongseon, South Korea. (AP Photo\/Christophe Ena)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"13\">\n<p><strong>Aspen&#8217;s Wiley Maple sticks out his tongue in the finish area after men&#8217;s downhill training at the 2018 Winter Olympics on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Jeongseon, South Korea. (AP Photo\/Christophe Ena)<\/strong><br \/>Christophe Ena\/AP | AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-1024x660.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen's Wiley Maple sticks out his tongue in the finish area after men's downhill training at the 2018 Winter Olympics on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Jeongseon, South Korea. (AP Photo\/Christophe Ena)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Aspen Times file photo | Aspen's Wiley Maple\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>Aspen&#8217;s Wiley Maple<\/strong><br \/>Aspen Times file photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-1-1024x682.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen's Wiley Maple\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-2-1024x768.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Aspen's Wiley Maple finishes a training run during the Birds of Prey World Cup at Beaver Creek.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Aspen&#8217;s Wiley Maple finishes a training run during the Birds of Prey World Cup at Beaver Creek.<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-2-1024x768.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen's Wiley Maple finishes a training run during the Birds of Prey World Cup at Beaver Creek.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-3-768x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Aspen World Cup ski racer Wiley Maple laughs after narrowly losing to former World Cup ski racer Casey Puckett during the eighth annual Audi Ajax Cup in Aspen.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Aspen World Cup ski racer Wiley Maple laughs after narrowly losing to former World Cup ski racer Casey Puckett during the eighth annual Audi Ajax Cup in Aspen.<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-3-768x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen World Cup ski racer Wiley Maple laughs after narrowly losing to former World Cup ski racer Casey Puckett during the eighth annual Audi Ajax Cup in Aspen.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-4-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-4-1024x725.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Luca Bruno\/AP | AP | Aspen's Wiley&nbsp;Maple competes in men's downhill training at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Jeongseon, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. (AP Photo\/Luca Bruno)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Aspen&#8217;s Wiley&nbsp;Maple competes in men&#8217;s downhill training at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Jeongseon, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. (AP Photo\/Luca Bruno)<\/strong><br \/>Luca Bruno\/AP | AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-4-1024x725.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen's Wiley&nbsp;Maple competes in men's downhill training at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Jeongseon, South Korea, Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. (AP Photo\/Luca Bruno)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-5-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-5-768x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Aspen's Wiley Maple laughs at the bottom of the Birds of Prey downhill course at Beaver Creek.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Aspen&#8217;s Wiley Maple laughs at the bottom of the Birds of Prey downhill course at Beaver Creek.<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-5-768x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen's Wiley Maple laughs at the bottom of the Birds of Prey downhill course at Beaver Creek.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-6-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-6-682x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Aspen Times file photo | Aspen's Wiley Maple\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>Aspen&#8217;s Wiley Maple<\/strong><br \/>Aspen Times file photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-6-682x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen's Wiley Maple\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-7-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-7-1024x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | World Cup ski racer Wiley Maple helps cook hamburgers and hotdogs during the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club's annual Fourth of July picnic in 2019 at Koch Park in Aspen. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9\">\n<p><strong>World Cup ski racer Wiley Maple helps cook hamburgers and hotdogs during the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club&#8217;s annual Fourth of July picnic in 2019 at Koch Park in Aspen. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/wileyski-atd-022820-1-7-1024x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"World Cup ski racer Wiley Maple helps cook hamburgers and hotdogs during the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club's annual Fourth of July picnic in 2019 at Koch Park in Aspen. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-world-cup-skier-wiley-maple-a-2018-olympian-retiring-due-to-injury\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-world-cup-skier-wiley-maple-a-2018-olympian-retiring-due-to-injury\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">One of the most persistent ski racers on the planet, Aspen\u2019s Wiley Maple had defied the odds for nearly a decade on the World Cup. But earlier this season in Bormio, Italy, the 29-year-old had reality hit him pretty hard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He knew then his career was over.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI did the first training run in Bormio and that was the most terrified I\u2019d ever been and the most uncomfortable and destroyed after a race course I\u2019d ever been,\u201d Maple told The Aspen Times on Thursday. \u201cJust walking back to the hotel, I was in complete shock at how insane that had just been and how lucky I was to be walking back to the hotel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Maple has dealt with a bad back for years, an injury that has been as persistent has he had been over his career, and it finally won out. After a long stint on the World Cup and a start in the 2018 Winter Olympic downhill, Maple officially announced Thursday he was retiring from competitive ski racing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI definitely have just procrastinated letting the world know,\u201d Maple said. \u201cI definitely wanted to let it sink in a little bit for myself. I had a flight back to Europe and I gave myself a week and a half of time at home before I made the full conclusion and canceled that flight back to Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Maple said his back problems began when he was 19 and already knocking on the door of the World Cup. Over the past 10 years he\u2019s had three microdisectomys, a minimally invasive surgery to fix a herniated lumbar disc in the back. This procedure has helped from time to time, but Maple is at the point where he needs a spinal fusion, which is a more permanent solution to his ongoing pain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He\u2019s hoping to have the operation done later in the spring.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWhat I\u2019ve been told is a fusion is the end of a competitive racing career. And that\u2019s pretty much the only option,\u201d Maple said. \u201cI was just trying to be successful and try and find a place in my head and in my body where I was in a comfortable enough place to actually go race and be competitive and Bormio basically opened my eyes that it wasn\u2019t going to be possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Maple, who grew up skiing through the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club, made his World Cup debut in January 2011. According to his FIS page, he\u2019s recorded 71 official World Cup starts over the past nine years, all in downhill, super-G or combined. His best career World Cup finish was 17th in a 2015 downhill in Saalbach, Austria.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">A member of the U.S. Ski Team on and off over his career, Maple often did his best when he flew solo, as difficult as that was. These past few seasons he\u2019s competed as an independent racer, finding his own funding to keep his dream alive. Even in 2018, when he competed in the Olympics, he wasn\u2019t officially part of the U.S. national team that season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Injuries plagued Maple over the decade, often leaving him starting the season from the bottom of the pecking order.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cAt the moment I\u2019m incredibly bummed about my career. I just didn\u2019t think any of my results really reflected what I was capable of,\u201d Maple said. \u201cI just never had momentum. I just wish some of that energy and perseverance and all that would have taken me up the ladder. I could have started midway one season and then fought to the top. Instead I was always starting from the bottom every year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Despite the struggles and the current anguish of having to call it quits, Maple can still find some silver lining and believes he\u2019ll see it differently in the future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI\u2019m certainly proud of how successful I was and for how much injury I had and how little support from the national team, specifically, I had,\u201d Maple said. \u201cGrowing up and having these dreams \u2014 I\u2019m not sure when they started \u2014 but I guess to a degree I certainly accomplished my dreams and goals. I think with time I\u2019ll be a lot more proud of my racing career and what I\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Maple said the spinal fusion will end his competitive ski racing career, but should make it easier \u2014 and less painful \u2014 to freeski. After returning home from the Bormio race just before the New Year and after canceling his return trip to Europe, Maple joined Baker Boyd for a few days of powder skiing in Japan. Boyd is a noted big mountain skier from Aspen and one of Maple\u2019s close childhood friends.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Maple doesn\u2019t know what his future holds \u2014 he plans to finish his philosophy degree over the next year \u2014 but certainly won\u2019t stop skiing anytime soon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI have tons of plans, I just have no idea what I\u2019m going to do,\u201d Maple said with a laugh. \u201cObviously a massive thank you to the entire community and my parents and everybody who made the last 10 to 15 years possible. I would have been done long ago if it weren\u2019t for the support of this community and all my friends and family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:acolbert@aspentimes.com\">acolbert@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-world-cup-skier-wiley-maple-a-2018-olympian-retiring-due-to-injury\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aspen&#8217;s Wiley Maple sticks out his tongue in the finish area after men&#8217;s downhill training at the 2018 Winter Olympics on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018, in Jeongseon, South Korea. (AP Photo\/Christophe Ena)Christophe Ena\/AP | AP Aspen&#8217;s Wiley MapleAspen Times file photo Aspen&#8217;s Wiley Maple finishes a training run during the Birds of Prey World Cup [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2455147","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-10 09:49:50","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2455147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2455147\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2455147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2455147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2455147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}