CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb 14 (Reuters) - After winning a shock Olympic super-G gold, Italy's Federica Brignone says her approach to Sunday's giant slalom will be to keep calm and carry on.
The 35-year-old Alpine skier delighted the host nation with her stunning comeback performance on Cortina d'Ampezzo's Olimpia delle Tofane piste on Thursday, 10 months after a career-threatening leg injury, and she has momentum on her side.
"After the super-G victory, it was an emotionally beautiful but tough two days, where people showed me all their affection. Now I'm getting back into the Olympic spirit," she said on Saturday.
"I hope to approach the next race with the same calm as I did the super-G and downhill."
Brignone was the silver medallist in Beijing four years ago and remains the reigning world champion in the discipline.
She took that title weeks before she suffered multiple leg fractures and a torn anterior cruciate ligament at the national championships.
"I arrived in Cortina with few certainties and equally little training, without the days of work I would have liked to put into my legs, but these days I'm used to experiencing situations like this. I have to do the best I can with what I have," she told Italian federation FISI's website.
"It will be about a three-minute performance. I want to make the most of my experience and technical ability. Physically, I feel good... There's still a bit of pain, but I'm feeling better than I was this week. I hope my mental attitude remains the same as in the past few days."
Brignone made her competitive return last month in a giant slalom on home snow in Kronplatz, finishing sixth and as the fastest Italian.
She said after winning the gold that she was the underdog and it was harder to win as a favourite, with all the pressure and expectation.
The Italian has done just three days of GS skiing since Kronplatz, and not even full days at that.
"I hope there's spring snow. Today in the last training session, I was very aggressive. I'm trying to regain some energy, and I intend to continue to stay calm."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
