THE SIDELINES : World Cup Skiing Champion Tamara McKinney, 28, Retires

Tamara McKinney, winner of more World Cup Alpine ski races than any other American, announced her retirement today from competitive racing.

McKinney, 28, a 13-year veteran of the U.S. Ski Team, will become official spokesperson for Jimmie Heuga’s Mazda Ski Express, a charity ski series which raises money to fight multiple sclerosis.

Her retirement was not unexpected. Injuries have dogged McKinney for the past three seasons. She suffered a broken left leg and cartilage damage to her left knee in a fall during giant-slalom training in Switzerland Oct. 18, 1989, missing the entire World Cup season that year. Her slow recovery figured to keep her sidelined again this season.

But McKinney, who also missed most of the 1987-88 season with a broken left ankle, said the latest injury wasn’t a factor in her decision. “Even before that injury I had decided that last year would be my final season,” she said at a press conference. “ . . . It’s time to move on.”

McKinney won 18 World Cup races, more than any other U.S. skier. She competed in three Olympics and won gold and bronze medals in the 1989 World Championships in Vail, Colo.