Alain Baxter calls it a day

Alain Baxter, Britain's most successful alpine skier, today announced his retirement from international competition.

The Scot had been hoping to compete at next year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver but injuries have finally caught up with the 35-year-old.

Baxter claimed Britain's first ever alpine Olympic medal when he won bronze in the men's slalom at the 2002 Winter Games, only to be later stripped of the prize when he failed a drugs test.

He was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing after explaining the methamphetamine found in his system was an ingredient in the US brand of Vicks inhalers, which he had used to treat a cold.

He insisted he had no idea the inhaler was different to the UK version of Vicks, which did not contain any banned substances.

Baxter was due to make his final run down the slalom at the British Land National Ski Championships in Meribel, France, this afternoon.

He said: "It has been a privilege to represent Scotland and Great Britain at the top level of international ski racing for more than 20 years.

"I had always planned to make it to Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics but this is the first year I have felt that my injuries could have prevented me from performing to the best of my ability.

"Naturally, winning then losing an Olympic bronze medal in 2002 was one of the happiest and lowest points of my career."

The British Olympic Association assisted with, and publicly funded, an appeal against the loss of Baxter's medal but without success.