Alpine skiing-Slalom champ Shiffrin happy to be hunted at worlds

By Mark Lamport-Stokes BEAVER CREEK, Colorado, Feb 2 (Reuters) - American darling Mikaela Shiffrin said on Monday that she will embrace the weight of expectation when she defends her alpine ski world championship slalom title on home snow although she would prefer being the underdog. The 19-year-old, who was born in nearby Vail, can count on raucous support from the local fans after winning three times in her last 10 World Cup races, including two in a row in her strongest discipline, the slalom. "I feel really well prepared and I love the fact that we've had almost a month to prepare for these races," Shiffrin told a news conference in one of the many hotels scattered around the posh ski resort of Beaver Creek as the world championship opening ceremonies were about to get underway on Monday. "I feel like I have gotten good training in hard conditions, soft conditions, steeps, flats, everything. We'll see on race day ... but I like to think I have the capability to win two gold medals here." Two years ago, Shiffrin made a huge splash as an underdog when clinched the slalom crown at the world championships in Schladming before going on to become the youngest Olympic champion in that discipline at the 2014 Sochi Games. Hardly surprisingly, she has had a target on her back this season with her role switching emphatically from being a 'hunter' to 'the hunted'. "Yeah, hunted!" smiled the remarkably poised American teenager. "I've been feeling that all season. I don't like being hunted. "Defending champion or not, I've been in that position before (in the World Cup). I just have to go and ski out there and not think about it (being hunted). "I'm in a position where I could feel a lot of pressure but it's the exact position I want to be in. I wouldn't have it any other way, and that takes the pressure off." Shiffrin, who has displayed superb form on the World Cup circuit this season since making some technical adjustments in mid-December, relishes the prospect of competing for world championship glory in her home town. "It does feel like the world championships but it also feels so free for me right now," she grinned. "Being at home, it has a very special atmosphere. "I just feel like a little kid again." (Editing by Steve Keating)