Freestyle halfpipe skier Justin Dorey retires for the sake of his head

VANCOUVER — Concussions have forced Justin Dorey to retire from the national halfpipe freestyle ski team after he helped establish Canada as a power in the sport.

The 28-year-old from Vernon, B.C., won the overall World Cup title in 2014 and was a Dew Tour champion in 2012.

Dorey and Canadian teammates Mike Riddle and Noah Bowman made the Olympic final in Sochi, Russia, in 2014 when their sport made its Winter Games debut.

Dorey posted the top score in qualifying, but was unable to replicate that performance in the final. Riddle took the silver medal, Bowman was fifth and Dorey 12th.

“I thought I’d be a lot more bummed when I retired, but I feel really lucky that I got as far as I did,” Dorey said Tuesday in a statement released by the Canadian Freestyle Ski Association.

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“When I joined the program we were able to develop the best team in the world and I still believe we have the best team in the world.”

Dorey didn’t compete in 2015-16 because of concussion symptoms.

He wrote in a letter posted on Freeskier.com on Tuesday that he’d sustained “between 10 and 15 concussions” during his career, with each successive one requiring longer recovery and making him susceptible to more.

The most recent occurred while rope swinging into a lake over a year ago.

“All it took was my head slapping the water to put me out of commission for a year,” Dorey wrote. “The fact that this recovery is taking as long as it has — and I’m still not 100 per cent— has led me to make one of the toughest decisions I’ll ever make.

“It’s time to hang it up.”

He intends to pursue a business administration degree at Capilano University.

“Justin is one of the most influential halfpipe skiers of all time,” Canadian coach Trennon Paynter said in the CFSA statement.

“His combination of massive amplitude, beautiful style, and technical progression, has long held him in high regard by the international ski and snowboard community.”

The Canadian Press