CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Italy's Federica Brignone said the secret behind her giant slalom gold medal on Sunday was the absence of pressure and a sense of complete freedom.
Brignone, 35, completed a golden double on home snow at the Winter Olympics in Cortina, adding the giant slalom title to the super-G she claimed last Thursday.
"I think my secret was not to feel any pressure, just to be happy to be here. I came here to enjoy myself, do my best and be grateful to be at home," Brignone told journalists in Cortina.
"I think if I had come here to win gold medals, I would have gone home with none," she added with a wide smile.
A crash in April left the Italian skier - nicknamed 'The Tiger' - with multiple leg fractures and a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Until that fall at the Italian Championships, she had been among the favourites for the Games. She finally returned to skiing in late November after 292 days out and two operations.
"It was already a miracle to be here, to carry the flag. This was one of the biggest things I wanted in my life, and I was missing it. Not the gold medal; I didn't care," Brignone said.
She won by 0.62 seconds after dominating the first run on the Olimpia delle Tofane piste, then taking a more controlled approach with the medal in sight.
"It's incredible how I stayed calm and focused on skiing, on doing the right things," she said in bright sunshine.
"During the first run, I was even too calm. I told myself: 'Are you going to get going or are you still sleeping?'
"In the second run, I was more tense. But then I kept telling myself what I had to do - 'attack, take the turns, move.'
"And even as I was skiing down, I kept repeating: 'move, move, move,' because when stress and tension hit, you risk freezing up," she added.
Brignone - who reiterated that her leg will never return to what it was before the accident - said the injury taught her to accept the unexpected.
"I would exchange my two medals to go back and not have this injury. But I'm here, and this teaches me something more. It happens. You have to accept it. Things happen in life," she said.
Born in Milan, Brignone is now coached by her brother Davide, whose own promising career was cut short by injuries.
"I knew she could be fast, but I didn't think she could win the Olympics. She made it look easy, but the Olympics are hard to win even when you're in great shape," he told reporters after the race.
"She has certainly found her balance in competition, which has allowed her to go beyond her injury. She has found a way to perform at her best," he added.
(Reporting by Sara Rossi, editing by Toby Davis)
