VAL d'ISERE, France (Feb. 9) - Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) made history winning her second World Championships gold Monday at the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships in Val d'Isere. Vonn talked to journalists about her day and the accomplishment.

Your goal was to get one gold medal, now you have two.
It's incredible. I was just looking for one gold medal and got that in the super G. I was looking for a medal in the super combined and it didn't work out so it made me hungrier

Just like the super G, I raced with my heart. I raced well. I had good tactics, especially on the bottom where girls were losing time.

I'm so happy. It's been an incredible World Championships for me. I hope things continue to go well.

Is it hard for you to be in the same company as great heroes like Andrea Mead Lawrence, Gretchen Fraser and others?
It's really weird. I just feel honored to be with those great ski legends. I don't picture myself among such great skiers. I'm still just trying to ski my best everyday. I feel like I'm breaking a lot of records, but I'm just out doing my job and I love what I'm doing. I'll just keep working hard to do as well as I can.

The downhill is really your event, isn't it?
Downhill is my favorite event, it always has been since I met Picabo Street. She always inspired me. For some reason I've always been drawn to the speed, the adrenaline, the rush of it all. It's an amazing discipline. I've always wanted to win at a big event and I feel like it's a big breakthrough for me. I was able to do it despite being nervous. My husband and I really worked through it. I'm going to take what I learned today to the Olympics and hopefully I'll be able to do well there.

Four years ago things didn't go well in Bormio. What's the difference now with you mentally that little reverse don't effect you?
I've learned from my past experiences. Bormio was just one bad race after another and I didn't quite know what to do with it – the pressure, the nerves – I was just lost. Then, at the Torino Olympics I felt like I was mentally stronger and prepared. Even with the crash, I didn't win anything but I felt mentally strong in the start. I learned a lot from competing at those Olympics.

Winning the overall last year really helped me in dealing with the stress. The last month there was so much riding on every single run and it made me a stronger person. I was nervous today – I was SO nervous. I asked him [husband Thomas] to come to the start with me and he's never done that before. But he knew what to do to make me less nervous and relax. When I get into the start he got me fired up and used words he knew would motivate me. If I'm in the right frame of mind when I go out of the start, I can just let the skiing take over and ski the right line. If I'm relaxed, I can perform. Having my husband has really helped.

Did your run feel as flawless as it looked?
At the top I felt very good and was carrying good speed. I knew through the whole run that the bottom section would be the most important. If I executed the line through that one section and carried the speed, I could win the race. I hadn't done it that well in training. I watched video and k new approximately what line to take and in the race I just made it work. I think I had a bit rounder line than Gut and it worked. I was able to come out on a higher line and was faster.

Did the disappointment of losing a medal in super combined play a role? Had you thought about winning a medal in every discipline?
I had thought about it but only because some reporters were talking to me about it. They were talking about Tony Sailor's record. I only heard it from the reporters and didn't think much about it. Coming in I was only thinking about one gold medal so I wasn't going to get carried away thinking about five. It's almost impossible to do. What happened in the super combined was disappointing. But slalom is so tough – everything is happening so fast – one mistake and you're out of the race. 

My goal is to ski fast every day and try to get medals. But I don't by any means expect to win in every discipline.

What are your thoughts on slalom and GS this week?
I definitely think I have a chance. Slalom has been going very well for me this season. I feel strong and I'm going to do the best I can to prepare for that and hopefully I can get another medal.

Did you have any mistakes in your run today?
I feel like most of the course was pretty good. There's a huge left footer where you had almost a 180 degree turn and I skied that well. But three turns down there's a sidehill traverse and I may have lost a bit of speed there. 

Did the extra day of rest help you after the downhill was postponed from Sunday?
The rest definitely helped me. It was good because it was a brutal program. I came here straight from Garmisch and pushed through the super G, then training runs and super combined, which is always a long day. But at the same time, it made me pretty anxious. You're waiting and waiting and waiting and you just want to get it over with. It was killing me. But I knew they were going to delay it a day because snow conditions weren't good enough for World Championships and that was a good decision. I knew I had to be ready, just rested up and was prepared for today.

Are you on a roll or are you plateaued at a high level?
I feel like my skiing has gotten a lot better and consistent. I've been working a lot on tactics and consistency, especially in slalom and GS. I've been skiing pretty well all season but the last week and a half it seems to be going extremely well for me. I'm carrying more confidence because of those wins. I feel like my skiing is at a great level. It's consistent. I'm going to keep trying to make runs without mistakes, solid clean runs. I think things are going really well and I hope they'll continue.

Is there a time when you say you're going go master GS?
I feel like I've been trying to do that. I did that with slalom and it paid huge dividends this year. I've been working a lot for GS but for some reason I'm not able to put together two runs. There's lots of times I'm top three in a run, but I need to be more consistent, like I am in slalom, and podiums will come – I hope.

What's your plan going into Vancouver?
Thomas and I will sit down at the end of the season and talk about Vancouver and what we're going to do. But today was a great practice run. I was incredibly nervous, and I know I will be at the Olympics. But today was a good step in the right direction.

Is there a time when you have to say no to all the media demands?
I really am hoping that ski racing becomes more popular in the United States. I want you guys to be a part of what's going on with my skiing and to make it more popular. But I also have to take care of myself. But going into Vancouver it's important to do those things which are really going to be good for the sport. It's tough to get in the time you need for workouts, physio – so many things that go on. So I'll have to cut the time down with the press a little bit. But I want to do as much as I can because it's so important for skiing.

Why were you nervous?
Like I said in the super G, I give my life for the sport. I work so hard to accomplish things. I want it so bad – more than anything. And I knew I could have it if I had a good run. It was only myself that could stop me. I wanted to execute, I wanted to have a good run and when you want things so badly, sometimes it's tough to control your own emotions. I had been waiting for two days anticipating this race and it was tough to control that emotion. He just started making jokes, talking to me about the game plan, how much I wanted it and thinking about skiing – not the outcome, but what it takes to get there.

If you had a choice, the downhill would be your favorite medal to win, right?
If I had a choice, I definitely would want the downhill medal. But I'm lucky, I have a super G and a downhill medal, so I don't have to make that decision.

Are you skiing at 100 percent capacity all the time?
It changes at World Championships and Olympics. Everyone out there is trying to medal and pushing themselves further than a World Cup race. You have to give it a 100 percent effort if you want to win. But at the same time, you have to be smart. You have to ski the line you inspected. You can't just say you're going to go as straight as you can or push yourself to the limit. You can't be fast by just going straight. For me, I was giving it my all but still being smart – still keeping the high line, right where I needed to be in the technical, difficult sections. You have to be able to ski 100 percent and still be technically smart. That was my plan for both the super G and downhill and it worked pretty well.

Does that mean you sometimes ski at just 90 percent and is there an advantage?
When I'm skiing 90 percent it more or less means I'm not pushing myself to the limit. When I train at 100 percent I go straighter and faster and the likelihood of going out is higher. In a race, if I'm going 90 percent, that's something I had trouble with in the past. In the past when I would be 100 percent I would either win by 1.5 or be in the fence. I've worked on skiing 90 percent, being solid, not taking as many risks – not really slowing down – but making sure I take the line and not getting off in some sections.

What's the difference in Lindsey from 2002 to 2006 to now?
Definitely from the 2002 Olympics I've made huge advances in my fitness and also mentally. In 2002 I was there as a rookie, just to get the experience. It allowed me to get a good result in the combined. In Torino I came in with a lot more expectation than in the past. I knew how to handle it a little bit because of what happened in the Bormio World Championships. But at the same time I had the injury and knew I probably wasn't going to win but was out there trying my best. I think, that took some of the pressure off.

These World Championships have been the toughest because of the pressure. But because of what I've learned, I'm mentally tougher. I've worked hard on my physical fitness – six to eight hours a day in the summer – and it's helped my skiing incredibly. I'm able to take a tighter line without the risks because my body can handle it.

Was Tamara McKinney a hero for you?
Unfortunately I never got to watch Tamara McKinney race when I was young. I saw Picabo [Street] and Hilary Lindh at the Olympics and when I met Picabo it was an inspiration. I never met Tamara until later in my career. My dad always used to talk about her as a legend in skiing and she's a hero. I look back and see who really has done the most for skiing and Tamara played a huge role in that.

Do you ever think about how high you can raise the bar for female American ski racers?
I've thought about it a little bit. It's something that keeps you grounded. I look at what [Austrian] Renate Goetschl has done. I'm so proud of what I'm able to accomplish so far. But to do something like Renate's done is humbling. It makes me strive to be better and work hard. I'm going to keep going and go as long as I can, winning as much as possible. I don't know how far it will take me but I'm going to try to reach as high as I can.

When I end my career, I hope things are good for me. For now, I'm just going to work hard for the future.