The upcoming season isn’t going to be quite the victory lap Samara Maxwell and Decathlon Ford were looking forward to. After clinching the 2025 World Cup overall title, the New Zealand racer is, instead, taking a step back from the sport. Maxwell’s team made the announcement Wednesday.

Decathlon Ford is calling the move a “sabbatical pause,” and saying it is in service of Maxwell’s long term goals. Specifically, the athlete and team are focused on her performance in L.A. at the Olympic Games in 2028. Both consider that more important than results this year and the team states it is in full support of the decision.

A full sabbatical

Maxwell isn’t just stepping back from racing. The announcement says the Kiwi will “Dedicate 2026 to a period of rest and personal reconnection.” During that time, the 23-year-old will “step away from racing, media activities, social platforms and public engagements.”

Maxwell has quickly earned a large fan following not just through results, but through her animated, entertainingly honest and funny post-race interviews and online presence.

The team explains that this choice is to help her “Restore physical energy, regain mental balance, and spend meaningful time with the people and places that matter most to her.”

“This is the right moment for me to pause, breathe, and return to my roots. I want to spend time with my family, recharge, and prepare myself for the challenges ahead,” Maxwell is quoted in the team’s statement.

A healthy step forward?

While Decathlon Ford’s statement is vague on details, Maxwell did tell Radio New Zealand in October that the run-in to her World Cup overall title win, which came at Mont-Sainte-Anne in October, had resurfaced mental health issues from the N.Z. athlete’s past. In. that interview, though, Maxwell says both her result and how she dealt with those issues resurfacing showed signs of progress, not regression.

“I’m really proud that I’m in a place where I can say I’m struggling and could call my coach and call my psychologist,” Maxwell told RNZ. “For me, the weeks where I’m able to say I’m struggling is when I’m doing well because it means I’m not ignoring those problems. If I hadn’t acknowledged my struggles at the start of the week I would not be where I am.”

Maxwell has been open about her struggles with eating disorders throughout her career. While it’s not stated in Decathlon Ford’s announcement whether her current hiatus is related to that interview in October, it is good to see a young athlete prioritising their mental health over short term results or sponsor obligations.

Opposition versus support

Maxwell’s openness did result in issues in the past. New Zealand’s sporting body tried to block Maxwell from competing at the Paris Olympic Games for, it claimed, her own health. Maxwell successfully appealed that decision and represented N.Z. in Paris in 2024. She finished eighth at that Games. It’s great to see Decathlon Ford supporting this move to take a sabbatical.

With her Paris Olympic experience and 2025 success, it is not surprising that Maxwell is focusing on her goals in L.A. over defending her World Cup crown.