Vonn, 25, is the best in the world in a sport all Americans recognize - even if primarily as a recreational activity. Her quest to dominate the Alpine skiing events will be one of the highlighted story lines of the Olympics.
The way Vonn is skiing right now, she has a chance to become the first person to medal in all five Alpine disciplines - downhill, super-G, combined, giant slalom and slalom.
"The toughest thing about ski racing is all the variables," Vonn said on a conference call this week. "I haven't given thought to the possibility of winning more than one medal at the Olympics.
"My approach is to always take 1 day at a time and ski my best in that race. I'm skiing really well right now, but I could get a gust of wind or the weather might change."
The excitement over Vonn comes from the fact that she is the most successful American female skier in history with 28 World Cup victories. Her victory total ranks second only to Bode Miller (31) in USA history.
With victories in 2008 and '09, the Minnesotan is the first American female to win back-to-back overall world championships. Tamara McKinney in 1983 is the only other American woman to win an overall championship.
Over the weekend in Haus Im Ennstal, Austria, she became the first American woman to win races on 3 consecutive days at a World Cup event.
Vonn will be one of the favorites to win the downhill, the super-G and combined events (downhill and slalom) in Vancouver. And again, she could win five medals.
There is speculation that an injury to her lower left arm might keep Vonn from competing in the slalom. A fall yesterday in a slalom race in Flachau, Austria, did not help matters.
Still, she said she hopes to "ski all five disciplines" in Vancouver.
