Bode Miller says he’s ‘leaning pretty heavily’ toward retiring

Olympic gold medal winner Bode Miller, who underwent surgery Thursday to repair a severed hamstring tendon he suffered in a crash in the men’s super-G at the world championships hours earlier, says his career could be over.

In an interview with NBC, when asked if he had made up his mind about returning, Miller said he was “leaning pretty heavy towards not going out there anymore.”

Miller was competing for the first time since undergoing surgery on his back in November and was posting the fastest split times of the race when he clipped a gate. The contact spun him around and sent him somersaulting down the hill. He eventually got back on his skis and finished the run with a deep gash on his leg.

Miller is the most successful U.S. men’s skier of all-time with 33 World Cup wins (seventh all-time) and 79 podiums. He’s won six Olympic medals, including a gold he earned at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics in the super combined. He also has four world championship golds and was the overall World Cup champion in 2005 and 2008.

This isn’t the first time Miller has hinted at retirement. After a disappointing 2008-09 season, Miller said he was contemplating stepping away from the sport. However, the lengthy rehabilitation period associated with his latest injury may be enough for the 37-year-old to definitively call it quits.

“I’ve tried to retire a couple times, but it really didn’t stick,” Miller told NBC. “But I know, at some point, enough things conspire together and then it does stick. Like I said, I’m not one of those people who need a grand showing off or parade or anything. I just won’t be there.”

NBC will show more of its interview with Miller at 11:30 a.m. PST Saturday.