He now has 15 World Cup wins behind him, but the planets best giant slalom ski racer doesnt appear to have let it go to his head.
Ted Ligety, of Park City, told me in a phone interview last week that hes not all that famous particularly in America. Its a refrain U.S. ski racers have been saying for decades.
Still, occasionally a Picabo Street will break through the nations consciousness.
For sure, in the U.S. ski racing isnt as big as in Europe, Ligety said. We go anonymous pretty easily. In Europe its definitely a bigger deal. Its not too bad, but its definitely funny sometimes when kids and older people will ask for an autograph. Its a neat feeling, but its surreal as well, something you never really get used to.
Ligety said his success didnt arrive too fast. He burst into view during the 2006 Winter Olympics and has been rising ever since.
It was a dream come true. I was taken aback, I wasnt expecting it that time around, he said. But it didnt take away any of my motivation. I just keep going. I always looked up to the guys with a lot of success in a bunch of different events, so in a way (the Olympics) motivated me more, not wanting to be one of those one-hit wonders.