By Alan Baldwin

WHISTLER (Reuters) - Liberated where once he felt enslaved, Alpine ski showman Bode Miller has shaken off the burden of expectation and regained ownership of himself.

Four years ago, the American arrived at the Turin Olympics as the man who was going to turn everything he touched to gold. He had won world titles, was the overall World Cup champion and possessed an outrageous natural talent.

Instead, in one of the most public acts of self-destruction by any sportsman, it turned to dust. He partied off the piste and flopped on it.

The 32-year-old, now father of daughter Dacey who celebrated her second birthday on Friday, says he has not changed as a skier or a person but everything has been different at the Vancouver Games.

Not only is Miller excelling, he has been an inspiration to his team mates. His coaches say he has been a model professional.

Collecting his second medal in as many races, a super-G silver to go with Monday's downhill bronze, Miller reflected on Friday on why he was now in a far happier place. It all came down to ownership.

"In 2006 I didn't feel very happy about where I was at," the free spirit told a news conference. "Everyone was saying I was going to win in five events and refusing to listen to me when I told them it was very unlikely.

"I felt more and more trapped by what everyone else was saying and I had almost no ownership over my results or my situation," he added.

IDENTITY THEFT

"Too many people had said 'He's going to win these medals and this is the way he skis and this is how he is and this is how he acts'," said Miller.

"When everyone says that about you for that long, and to millions and millions of people, you don't feel like you have ownership of your own actions any more.

"Anything you do is already what someone else said you should do. Essentially they rob you of your freedom to be who you are," Miller added.

"A lot of the way I acted there (in Turin) was simply the result of feeling like that was the case. I wasn't focused on racing, I wasn't focused on enjoying myself. I was taking back my freedom and taking back ownership of who I was as a racer and a person."

Miller walked away from skiing last year and when he decided to come back for the new season it was like starting from scratch. He had no skis -- they had always belonged to sponsors -- or support staff but he knew what he was doing and why.

"I made all my own choices now and nobody tried to jump in there and say what I was going to do or who I was or how I was going to act," he said.

"It's not that I am that much of a baby that it bothers me that much, but when it's to hundreds of millions of people, it's really a frustrating position to be in.

"It feels much better to own your own results and to own your actions."

(Editing by Ed Osmond)