Youth Olympic gold medallist Elisabeth Gram has retired from freestyle skiing ©Getty Images

Austrian freestyle skier Elisabeth Gram has decided to end her professional career at the age of just 24.

Gram won gold in the girls' halfpipe at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics on home snow in Innsbruck, with her success the first gold medal for the host nation at the inaugural edition of the Games.

She dedicated her victory to her late mother and went on to enjoy a career at the top level.

At the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics Gram competed in the women's halfpipe, finishing 13th in qualification and missing out on the final by a single place.

Last year, she finished seventh at the 2019 World Championships in Park City, the best-ever result for Austria in the women's ski halfpipe.

Elisabeth Gram won the Innsbruck 2012 Youth Olympic girls' halfpipe gold medal and narrowly missed the Pyeongchang 2018 final ©Getty Images
Elisabeth Gram won the Innsbruck 2012 Youth Olympic girls' halfpipe gold medal and narrowly missed the Pyeongchang 2018 final ©Getty Images

Gram consistently placed inside the top 10 on the World Cup circuit but she now wants to focus on a new challenge.

"The time has come for me to take a new path," she said. 

"Due to new professional opportunities, I decided to retire from competitive sports and now focus on new goals. 

"I am very grateful for the formative moments in the Austrian Ski Federation and I will always remember this time very well."