SAAS-FEE, Switzerland — Three-time defending World Cup snowboarding champion Manuela Laura Pesko retired Thursday on the eve of a new season.

The 30-year-old Swiss, who won 13 World Cup halfpipe events and is the current world champion, took her first overall title in 2003 and three straight from 2006-08. She finished seventh at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

"I want to stop as the current world champion in halfpipe and at the high point in my competitive career," Pesko said on her official Web site. "I have received interesting film and advertising contracts from my sponsors that offer me a second sporting career."