If you hear anything about Alpine skiing these days, you hear that Lindsey Vonn is supposed to be the star of February's Vancouver Olympics.

Supposed to win medals, plural, not merely one.

Supposed to win golds, not any old color.

Supposed to sell products for the companies whose logos adorn her hats, her jackets, her skis.

And, last but not least, Vonn is supposed to be the camera-ready face of her sport, counted on to boost its popularity in the United States, a country that seemingly truly cares about skiing every, oh, four years or so.

"In some ways," Vonn acknowledged, "it is a lot of pressure."

Yes, add it all up, and the 25-year-old who lives and trains in Vail, Colo., is essentially being asked to become skiing's answer to swimming's Michael Phelps.

Quite a to-do list, huh?

"At first, it was a little bit surprising _ the expectations, and kind of what everyone was thinking that I'm going to do in Vancouver. What's most important for me is just to stay focused on my own goals, and all I can do is do my best," Vonn said.

"I'm not out there claiming I'm going to win so many medals," she added. "I'm just out there trying to ski fast every day, and hopefully I'll have a little bit of luck and get some."

The events of last weekend will do nothing to tamp down the anticipation of what could happen in Canada early next year. Here's what Vonn did in three World Cup races over three days at Lake Louise, Alberta: victory; victory; runner-up by 0.03 seconds.

"Just what I was hoping for," she said.

Oh, and then, of course, there was this little detail, the sort of thing of which sporting legends are made: In the first of those three events, a downhill on Friday, her knee slammed into her chin as she sped down the slope, which made her teeth chomp violently on her tongue, causing blood to pour out of a corner of her mouth as she crossed the finish line.

"Pretty gross," she said with a self-effacing snicker.

The results at Lake Louise lifted her career World Cup win total to 24, a U.S. women's record that includes 14 victories in downhill, six in super-G and two each in slalom and super combined. Her best showing in giant slalom _ aka GS _ is fourth place.

A two-time reigning overall World Cup champion, Vonn could very well become THE story of these Winter Games, a legitimate medal contender in all five women's Alpine events: downhill, super-G, slalom, GS and super combined (one downhill run and one slalom run).

Count Bode Miller among her fans.