Skiing: Former NZ Winter Olympian Beau-James Wells retires from freeskiing

Kiwi Winter Olympic freeskier Beau-James Wells has called time on his career.

The second youngest of the four Wells brothers, Beau-James, 25, represented New Zealand at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and carried the flag at the Pyeongchang 2018 opening ceremony.

Wells finished sixth in the halfpipe at the 2014 Games and fourth in the same event four years later. 

The Wanaka-native has competed at the highest level since 2010, debuting on the international circuit as a 15-year-old.

In 2014, Wells won the junior world halfpipe title and defended it one year later.

"Beau-James, you have brought so much mana and strength to the NZ team over the years and we can't wait to see what you produce in the future!" the NZ Olympic team has posted on Instagram.

In retirement, Wells will move into freeski filming, staying involved in the sport where he made his name.

"I have a lot more fun when I'm skiing for a video or film, and I can be more creative," Wells says. 

"I'll be skiing in the backcountry a lot more too and building jumps out there, while still skiing in the park and pipe." 

"The plan for the rest of the winter is to film as much as possible while we still have snow. I'm also getting married in November which is really exciting, then I'll head over to the States with my brother to film for the winter season over there." 

In late 2020, older brother Byron retired due to injury, while Jossi Wells came out of retirement this year to contest the Winter X Games at Aspen, Colorado.