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The American from New Hampshire was unusually emotional afterwards, saying: "To execute the race the way I did today is something I will be proud of for the rest of my life."

Which is quite a statement from him considering he almost turned his back on the sport he had grown to hate.

But, for whatever reason, he has fallen back in love with it, and racing is a joy again for the 32-year-old who is rightly one of the best ski racers in history, his name equal among the greats of , , and .

Miller's medal tally is truly remarkable - five Olympic medals so far (one gold, three silvers and a bronze), plus four World Championship golds and World Cup titles to boot.

With Olympic gold, Miller has finally fulfilled the potential which marked him as a star from an early age

But as former British skier and now Ski Sunday presenter Graham Bell told me: "It's not about the pots on the shelf for Bode.

"He's not a percentage man like , who will ski conservatively to make sure he gets down and gets a medal.

"Bode's not interested in that. The motivation for Bode is pushing the boundaries, skiing as fast as possible, even if it's risky."

Miller started skiing at the age of three and by 10 was racing, although he liked to snowboard, too.

His do-or-die attitude is loved by ski fans, especially in Austria where he has a huge fan base, but sometimes belies a determined man who has - from his style of racing to the ski technology used (he brought in hourglass skis).

And it's a remarkable change of Olympic fortunes after his .

After winning the downhill and super-G at the 2005 World Championships in Bormio, Miller was the hot favourite - probably unrealistically - to sweep the board at the 2006 Games.

But he blew his medal chances in the downhill and giant slalom, did not finish either the super-G and slalom, and was disqualified from the combined.

His were coming to the fore, and he enraged the already annoyed US media by hopping over security fences to escape being interviewed by them.

But that sorry saga has now been forgotten, and in Whistler he declared: "The level I skied today is right at the very, very top.

"You can't get that just on call - it's not like you turn a key and magically ski your absolute best - but when you are at the Olympics, with the energy and everything else, you can use that to bring your game up.

"There is a huge element of luck involved but it feels absolutely amazing."

Former British slalom skier felt Miller's late decision to race this season had actually benefitted him.

"Bode has peaked just at the right time and with his head in the right place, he has been amazing to watch," said the Scot.

But what will Miller do next? He hasn't yet decided whether he will carry on racing or not.

"Bode is a loose cannon and impossible to coach," said Bell. "He will always do his own thing. He comes across as a laid back dude, but Bode is always in control.

"Sometimes he will blank me for an interview at the end of a race but then bore me for an hour in the bar later, talking in great detail about what had happened. But that's Bode for you, you never know what you're going to get."