Olympic gold medallist Frieden may skip 2010 Winter Games

Dubai: Olympic snowboard cross gold medallist Tanja Frieden has jetted into Dubai and revealed that she may not compete at the next Olympic Games.

The 30-year-old Swiss snowboarder has said time was catching up with her and she had other interests to pursue.

Frieden, who won gold at the inaugural snowboard cross competition in the 2006 Winter Olympics, is in Dubai to offer a series of lessons to regular snowboarders at Ski Dubai in the Mall of the Emirates.

She is gearing up for the World Championships in Switzerland, early next year. However, she said she may well give the 2010 Olympics a miss.

"I'm not sure if I'm going to go there. It's not happening for four years and I have already been in this business for 10 years and I'm not getting any younger.

"There are other things in life to accomplish and other jobs I could do. I'm a school teacher, but this year I haven't done any teaching because I've been so busy," she said.

Snowboard cross is a specialised form of snowboarding in which a group of competitors start at the same time and try to reach the finish line first. There are usually various turns and drops on the way down and collisions between racers are not uncommon.

Speaking of her visit to Dubai, Frieden said the idea of building an artificial ski slope in the middle of the desert was "a bit crazy", but added that the Ski Dubai facility at the Mall of the Emirates was a good place to learn the craft.

"I'm very excited to be here. I've heard a lot of stories about Dubai and I thought it would be great to come here. It's a very special place. I've brought my kite surfing stuff here and I'm hoping to have a kite surfing session here before I leave," she said.

Frieden yesterday attended a reception at the residence of the Swiss Consul General Hans Hauser.