AUGUSTA — Olympian and Augusta native Julia Clukey will announce her retirement from luge at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

Clukey, 31, had competed in the sport for 19 years. She finished 17th in the 2010 Olympics and also won two silver medals in World Cup competition.

She failed to qualify for the 2014 Olympics by .013 seconds but put off retirement with the hopes of earning a berth on the national team that would compete in 2018.

Last November, Clukey fell one spot out of qualifying for the U.S. World Cup team. When USA Luge announced the national team in April for the 2016-17 season, she was listed on the “C” team.

The U.S. team is allowed four spots on the World Cup circuit and three of those spots were already filled, meaning Clukey would have had to compete with racers on the “C” and “B” teams for the final slot this fall.

Clukey said last May that she was training to compete for a berth on the team and continue working toward her ultimate goal, to return to Olympic competition in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Clukey enjoyed breakthrough success on the World Cup circuit in 2007-08 when she finished 12th overall in women’s singles. In 2009, she finished fifth at the FIL World Luge Championships in Lake Placid.

In 2011, Clukey underwent brain surgery for Arnold Chiari Malformation. She returned for the 2012-13 season, winning her first national title in Lake Placid, capturing two silver medals in World Cup competition and finishing sixth overall in the final World Cup standings.


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