Park City cross-country skier Rosie Brennan announces retirement from World Cup racing

Rosie Brennan Women's 10K 2021 FIS Cross Country World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany. Photo: Tom Horrocks/U.S. Ski & Snowboard @usskiteam

PARK CITY, Utah — Park City resident and renowned cross country skier Rosie Brennan announced she will be stepping back from World Cup-level competition Thursday.

In a statement, Brenna said, “I hope to ski and race as long as I possibly can, but my time as a World Cup athlete has come to an end.” She cited physical and mental tolls due to ongoing health challenges as a primary reason for the decision.

Brennan is a Park City High School alumnus and raced for Dartmouth College on the collegiate circuit.

After multiple setbacks and battling injuries, Brennan’s breakthrough moment came in December 2020 when she became the first American to simultaneously hold the overall world cup leader’s bib, world cup sprint leader’s bib, and world cup distance leader’s bib.

Brennan competed in all six cross-country ski events at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 and in three events at the Olympic Winter Games Milan 2026.

Throughout her skiing career, Brennan has represented the U.S. 310 times in competition.

“As I reflect on my World Cup career, I am most proud of showing up every day, having developed perseverance through overcoming many obstacles and difficult periods, and using my desire to learn and grow to become competitive in every event,” said Brennan.

Brennan also announced that while she is giving her body more time to heal, she will be enrolling in a Master’s of Sports Nutrition at Liverpool John Moores University this fall. This adds to her previous graduate work focused on developing ski curriculum for rural Alaska.

“I don’t know exactly how skiing will fit into my life moving forward, but I do know it will,” she said. “I do believe I will put on a race bib as soon as my body is ready.”