Nico Porteous: Kiwi freestyle skier announces retirement from the sport

Freestyle skier Nico Porteous has decided to retire at the ripe old age of... 23?

He's gonna keep skiing, but will not compete at any future Olympics.

He spoke to Jason Pine on Sportstalk about why he's doing this - and what he'll be doing instead.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sports Talk podcast with Duncie Wildergrave
from News Talk zedb Changing Tech.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
New Zealand's most successful male snow sports athlete, two time
Winter Olympic Games medallist and one of the most decorated
half pipe athletes in history, Nico Portius is stepping back
from Olympic competition and will no longer compete in free
ski halfpipe. Fortius won bronze as a sixteen year old
on the free ski halfpipe at the twenty eighteen Winter

(00:35):
Olympics and then made history four years later.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
So you see that switch double quirk ten and then
he goes for the sixteen to twenty and does that
back to backs of Bolls directions.

Speaker 3 (00:48):
This run is insane. Nisko Party is putting it down.
You can hear what's the team New Zealand at the
bottom of the run, thoughts of that and it's going
to be a score on run number one for Nico
Portis of New Zealand of ninety three believe in this
Olympic final. Congratulations to Nico Partis of New Zealand, the

(01:08):
Olympic champion of half fight here of Beijing twenty twenty two.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
Landing a right and left double corked sixteen twenty combination
to win Olympic gold at the Beijing Winter Games. He's
also won two X game gold medals, a World Championship title,
and five World Cup medals, and in the twenty twenty
two New Years Honors List, he was named a member
of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Nico Portius is

(01:34):
with us congratulations on an absolutely stellar career. Nico, can
you talk to us about what has led you to
the decision to call it a day.

Speaker 4 (01:44):
Yeah. Look, I'm twenty three now, and I've been competing
on the competitive half flight scene, in competing scenes since
I was ten, and so that's over half my life.
And I think throughout that period of time, from the
age of ten into your early twenties is when you
do a lot of a lot of the growing that
you do in your life, and you formulate, formulate your

(02:05):
own opinions, your own way of thinking. And I think
that you know, being in the competitive vironment so for
so much my life sort of led me to in
the end, lose that little bit of competitive passion, you
would say. And so, yeah, I made the decision while
I was healthy and could move into other sides of skiing,

(02:27):
and yeah, it's a choice that I've been able to
make on my own terms, which is, you know, something
that you don't really get to do. So I'm just stoked. Yeah,
really really happy.

Speaker 2 (02:39):
So you talked there about the competitive passion dulling it
a little bit. What about the passion for skiing is
that still there?

Speaker 4 (02:45):
Yeah, the passion for skiing is more alive than ever ever.
And that's what excites me so much. Is Yeah, I
absolutely love skiing and it's you know, what I love
to do, and I'm lucky that the sport has other
areas in which you can make your career and those
things really really excite me.

Speaker 2 (03:04):
Just before we look ahead, was there a time during
this thought process where you considered staying, considered continuing competing.

Speaker 4 (03:14):
Look, I don't think I like, I won't go back
to competing. I know that the door is shut. But
throughout this past year, you know, one of the reasons
why I didn't want to step away from competing was
to give myself a challenge and to learn and to
put myself into new situations. And so, you know, sometimes,
as we all do, when stuff gets hard a little bit,
you go, oh, well, maybe I could just go back

(03:35):
to what is known and what I know, And so
there definitely was times where I was like, oh, maybe
I could just go back, But yeah, I feel extremely
comfortable with the discision now and it's something that just
excites me. Yeah, and I just can't wait to see
what's and stuff in the future.

Speaker 2 (03:50):
As I was reading out that list of achievements at
the start of the chat, it felt like I should
be talking to a forty five year old. With everything
we've done, you're only as to say, you're only twenty three.
You achieved success at a very young age and a
lot of it has that made the decision a bit
more straightforward.

Speaker 4 (04:05):
Yeah. Look, I set out to achieve a certain certain
things when I started my competitive career, and you know,
it feels crazy even for me to say that, but
I have achieved those things, and I you know, it's
not like I need seven Olympic gold medals or I

(04:26):
need this. You know, I achieved what I wanted to
do and and you know that's all you can do
at the end of the day.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
So yeah, you've got You've given us so many amazing
moments to go or what what stands out the most
for you, What are you proudest of?

Speaker 4 (04:43):
I mean, I really you know, the Olympic gold was
something that was really really special for me. That is, yeah,
I don't know, just that in itself, and the challenges
and that you face in order to get to that position,
and you know, the hard times that you push it through,
and then also the good times that you have in
the build up that you know, it's not only about

(05:04):
just having that gold medal around your neck at the
end of It's about every single moment that has gone
and to get to get you to where you are.
And so yeah, I think I think that really tops
the list for me, as in a limp for gold.

Speaker 2 (05:18):
You've also been somebody who others have looked up to
have used as as a role model. You've you've provided
aspirational pathways I'm sure for many, not only ken we Skis,
but others as well. Is that something you take pride in?

Speaker 4 (05:32):
Yeah, it is. It is. I would like to think
that I've inspired someone to do what I do, and
I think that's that's huge as that if you can
share your passion with someone else and you can see
them gain positive experiences from it, then I think that's
you know what matters at the end of the day.
And yeah, I hope that I have done that.

Speaker 2 (05:55):
Well, you certainly have. So what now, mate, what will
you turn your attention to now?

Speaker 4 (06:00):
Yeah? So, I guess the the cool part about skiing
is that there's other areas to make your career and
so I'm moving into more of the filming side of things,
from producing and directing alongside videographers some video projects over
the past few years, and that's something I have a
real passion for. And then also the opportunities that I've
been given by my sponsors, whether that's helping organize and

(06:22):
run events or you know, doing product design and working
on new products for those companies, and that's something that
I'm really looking forward to continuing in the future and
also exploring any new opportunities that come my way. I'm
just here to learn and want to experience new things
that maybe I wouldn't have had time to in the past,
and so yeah, I'm really excited to see what's.

Speaker 2 (06:44):
To come outstanding. I mean, you don't reckon, You'll miss it.
You can walk it back. You don't reckon you'll miss
the competitive side of it.

Speaker 4 (06:54):
Nah, I don't think I will. I really don't. I
think I've completely shut that out of my head and
just looking toward the future now.

Speaker 2 (07:03):
Congrats on a brilliant career, Nico, and thank you for
all the wonderful moments that you've given us. I can't
wait to say what's next for you and appreciate you
taking the time for a chat this evening.

Speaker 4 (07:11):
Yeah cool. Thank you very much for having me on
and it's been a pleasure.

Speaker 2 (07:14):
Now it's been a pleasure to chat to you, Nico
and to watch you over these years. Nico Portius calling
it a day on his competitive skiing anyway, but moving
on to other ventures.

Speaker 1 (07:26):
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