Austrian ski jumper and three-time Olympic gold medallist Thomas Morgenstern announced his retirement from the sport Friday, Nachrichten newspaper reported in its online edition.

"It became clear over the summer," Morgernstern, also an 11-time World Championship gold medal winner, said of his decision. It was something he had given considerable thought, and in the end it was "not simple, but a logical step."

The 27-year-old Carinthian native had already mulled over retirement following heavy crashes last winter, though persisted to the Winter Olympics in Sochi where he won a silver medal.

"I want the positive moments to outweigh the negative, and that is what is happening at the moment. I have taken something positive out of every crash," he said.

Morgenstern said the best moment of his career was taking two gold medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, "not just because I became Olympic champion, but because of all the trappings."

"Those are the moments I will miss," he added.

He said he does not have a "plan B" in terms of what to do next because he has been so focused on ski jumping, but said he believes he has a good basis for finding something that would be "fun."

Morgernstern retires as the second-most successful Austrian Winter Olympian behind fellow ski jumper and Nordic combined specialist Felix Gottwald.

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