The 31-year-old featured at Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018, making five starts across the two Games.

Her best individual display was a sixth place finish in the sprint in Sochi, while she came fifth with the American line-up in the 4x5km relay in Pyeongchang.

Caldwell-Hamilton made 139 World Cup starts over eight years, winning twice in sprint and finishing on the podium a further eight times.

She raced at seven World Championships but was denied the chance to end her career on her own terms at the season-ending World Cup in Engadin in Switzerland earlier this month.

This was due to a false positive COVID-19 test which forced her into quarantine.

In the Pyeongchang relay, Caldwell-Hamilton clocked a disappointing time on the opening leg as the US finished outside of the podium places.

"The team-mates I've had looked me in the eye and told me they were proud to be my team-mate when I won my first World Cup and looked me in the eye and told me they were proud to be my team-mate when I imploded on the first leg of the relay at the Olympics," she said.

"My coach stood next to me on the best day of my life and sat with me on the hardest day of my life, neither of which had anything to do with skiing. 

"The feeling of going into the wax truck after a special result and having the techs erupt in cheers, sharing the giddiness of your first Olympics with some of your best friends, and chatting your way through beautiful skis on the days between racing are what makes this life so special.

"After nine years as a professional ski racer, the time has come to say goodbye. 

"I'm not saying goodbye to the sport, because I'm confident I will be a skier for life, but my days of donning a race bib are over. 

"While it’s become more difficult for me to find my own competitive spark, the joy I've gotten from being able to overlap with my younger team-mates more than makes up for it."