When she arrived here two weeks ago as the world's dominant female skier, Kostelic had never won a medal in the championships.
The Irish team consisted of one athlete, a female alpine skier and three officials.
Her three Olympic medals are the most ever for a female American alpine skier.
Masia said that the main difference between male and female skiers has to do with upper body strength.
Eight nations had both female and male alpine skiers participating.
She was the first female alpine skier who managed to win in all five World Cup events.
One company, K2, hired a group of female skiers to help test and design skis in an effort to reach more women.
After a pre-Olympics competition last year, female downhill skiers complained that the course, designed specifically for them, was too easy.
It was another day of unqualified failure for the female skiers from the United States.
On February 5, 2006 Janica became only the second female skier to win all five disciplines in one season.