Park City, UT (Wednesday, May 19, 2004) - Former alpine Junior World Championships medalist Alison Powers (Winter Park, CO) is retiring from World Cup competition, as is aerialist Brenda Petzold (Andover, MA), who overcame nearly a dozen knee surgeries to achieve her Olympic dream, the U.S. Ski Team announced.

Powers, 24 and a seven-season veteran of the Ski Team, battled injuries late in her career. A promising downhiller, she was bronze medalist in downhill at the 1999 Junior World Championships and won the NorAm overall and super G championships that season. However, she suffered multiple injuries, including a shattered kneecap, when she crashed near the finish line in a World Cup race in Austria in January 2001. She missed the rest of that winter and the entire 2002 season before returning to World Cup racing in 2003.

"'Powy' was great to have around," said U.S. Women's Head Coach Patrick Riml. "She was so professional, such a great example for the young girls on how to do things right. After her injury, it was really tough to come back, definitely not easy, but she was always such a great glider. I'm sorry she's retired, but she's moving on and you know she's going to be successful in whatever she does."

Petzold, 30, who was sidelined for the last two seasons after undergoing her 11th operation (seven on her right knee), was on the Ski Team for nine seasons. She missed all or part of five seasons because of knee and shoulder injuries. She was a two-time NorAm aerials champion and competed in two World Championships. She was 17th in the 2002 Olympics. She has been taking English and elementary education classes at Lesley College in Cambridge, Mass.

"One of Brenda's biggest strengths," said U.S. Freestyle Program Director Polly-Jo Clark, "is that she has always been a tough competitor and is one of the few women who qualified to compete triples on snow. She's also a great supporter of her teammates. We wish her the best of luck."