Nico Porteous steps back from Olympics, focuses on new ventures - Alice Soper

THE FACTS

• Nico Porteous, 23, announced his retirement, surprising many who expected him to compete in Italy.
• Porteous, a gold medallist, began his career at 11 and achieved significant milestones by 20.
• He plans to focus on creating opportunities in freeskiing, redefining success beyond competition.

Our most successful winter sportsman, Nico Porteous, has announced he will not be chasing a third Olympic Games medal.

Porteous’ decision has surprised many who expected him to defend his gold in Italy.

At just 23, without a drop in form or injury to force his hand, Porteous’ retirement feels like an anomaly. But perhaps it is instead, the beginning of another story of success.

Porteous’ pursuit of excellence began at 11 years old.

Following his brother into the sport, he quickly stood out all on his own.

At just 14 years old, he was the first New Zealander, and the youngest in the world at the time, to land a triple-cork 1440.

He became a Junior World Champion and soon after an Olympic bronze medallist at just 16. It was at his second winter Olympics that he nailed a dream run winning just New Zealand’s second gold at 20 years old.

The common consensus is that a high-performance sport career lasts an average of five years, with fluctuations dependent on the demands of the sport.

For every podium moment there is a mountain of solo sessions, travel time, and missed moments with friends and family.

At some point, these sacrifices will start to outweigh the success.

So while 23 may feel young to be calling it quits, Porteous has conservatively been at the top of his game for the better part of a decade. Lasting longer than we should have expected.

Nico Porteous won Olympic gold at the age of 20. Photo / Photosport

This is the trouble we run into when recruiting athletes into sports so young. While we want to meet talent with opportunity, you have to keep that clock in mind.

If you start it at 14, don’t be surprised if the individual calls time before their ability does.

That Porteous is stepping away from the top level of competition and not the sport altogether, is the real surprise here.

It speaks to the uniqueness of his code. One that features in the highest level of global competition, but is also part of the thrill-seeking world of adventure sport.

Other Olympians may wait for the spotlight on their sport once every four years, but freeskiing is part of the high-profile X Games- an event that has energy all of its own, focusing on a wider entertainment ecosystem around the action.

An athlete like Porteous, will have sat out of much of the socialising his peers have plugged into. It’s no wonder that the opportunities in that space may now be more attractive.

Rather than stepping away, Porteous is stepping sideways, uniquely positioned to apply his experiences as an athlete to others coming now into focus - creating rather than competing in this next phase of his freeskiing career.

In this, we should be cheering him on.

Just as he inspired us on the slopes, Porteous can inspire New Zealanders to see the wider opportunities sport has to offer, reminding us that while our time at the top may be limited, our time in the sport doesn’t need to be.

An Olympics is just one goal, there are whole lives to be lived. If we limit ourselves to the idea that success is purely gold, we will be unable to win any joy in what follows.

By redefining his relationship with freeskiing, Porteous is defining success on his terms.

Part of growing up is deciding the point at which we step off the path that has been laid out for us - one that defines the markers of success based on our society’s expectations.

It’s about looking inward and finding the joy we are called towards then giving ourselves permission to chase it.

Nico Porteous has spent the last decade of his life, growing up in front of us.

In his next step, I wish him every success, however he defines it

Alice Soper is a sports columnist for the Herald on Sunday. A former provincial rugby player and current club coach, she has a particular interest in telling stories of the emerging world of women’s sports.