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After crossing the finish line in second place, she wasn't quite sure how she had done "Usually, people are cheering if you do well, but looking at the audience, they were rather cold, so I had to find the numbers on the display," she recalled. Asked what the most difficult part was, she replied, "Coming to the start and believing in yourself."

And what was the first thought after winning the medal? "Confirmation that you can do it, that this is the best you can do. You fight for it, you practise, people believe in you and you believe in it. It is hard at times but in the end, the hard work has paid off."

Maze's medal is the first silver Olympic medal for Slovenia after nine bronzes. Jure Franko (giant slalom, Sarajevo 1984) and Mateja Svet (slalom, Calgary 1988) won silvers under the Yugoslav flag.

Maze's silver medal is a great relief to her, She was already a force to reckon with in Salt Lake City in 2002, but was only 18 at the time. At the Turin Games in 2006, she was a hot favourite but cracked under pressure, finishing 12th in giant slalom.

She has gone through several transformations since then, had conflicts with the national Ski Federation, the media, fans and probably herself, while her outspoken criticisms haven't always been received with sympathy.

She has had seasons to forget but now it seems that she has finally found her peace of mind. Most of the credit goes to her private team, led by Andrea Massi.

Lifting the burden from her shoulders can only lead to greater things. In the World Cup, she has eight wins to her name. She has made great progress in slalom this year and at 26 years of age; there are probably still a couple of seasons ahead of her. However, the financial conflict with the Ski Federation has yet to be resolved.

Slovenian placements

Silver medal:

Tina Maze, alpine skiing, super-G and giant slalom

Bronze medal:

Petra Majdič, cross country, classic sprint

4th place:

Klemen Bauer, biathlon, sprint 10 km

5th place:

Tina Maze, alpine skiing, super-combined

Teja Gregorin, biathlon, mass start 12,5 km

6th place:

Robert Kranjec, ski jumping, normal hill

Mitja Valenčič, alpine skiing, slalom

Žan Košir, snowboard, parallel giant slalom

7th place:

Peter Prevc, ski jumping, normal hill

8th place:

Filip Flisar, freestyle skiing, ski cross

Primož Pikl, Mitja Mežnar, Peter Prevc, Robert Kranjec, ski jumping, team

Dijana Ravnikar, Andreja Mali, Tadeja Brankovič-Likozar, Teja Gregorin. biathlon, relay 4 x 6 km

Rok Flander, snowboard, parallel giant slalom

9th place:

Teja Gregorin, biathlon, sprint 7,5 km and pursuit 10 km

Klemen Bauer, biathlon, pursuit 12,5 km

Robert Kranjec, ski jumping, large hill

Tina Maze, alpine skiing, slalom

10th place:

Aleš Gorza, alpine skiing, giant slalom