BOSTON — When the defending women’s overall champion is on the slopes during World Cup races, fans can expect to see the flash of a cheetah whiz by, too.

For Anna Fenninger, the cheetah is her totem animal, one she has patterned on her helmet. It is an apt fit for the 25-year-old Austrian, who also won the Olympic gold medal in super-G last year.

With an affinity for the world’s fastest mammal, Fenninger became an ambassador for the Cheetah Conservation Fund in 2013.

“In one moment, they are so peaceful,” she said in November in Beaver Creek, Colorado. “In the next, they are a killer.”

Fenninger, quiet and solitary off the slopes, is a pure predator when it comes to skiing — graceful, agile, aggressive, and one of the fastest women in ski racing.

Last February, Fenninger won gold in the super-G and silver in giant slalom at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia. A little over a month later, she captured the World Cup giant slalom and overall titles, firmly establishing herself as one of the sport’s most dominant women.

Fenninger’s best season to date came at a time when Lindsey Vonn, the American who on Monday became the winningest female World Cup ski racer with her 63rd victory, was sidelined with a knee injury.

Fenninger is eager to prove that her 2014 success was not facilitated by Vonn’s absence.

“It’s good for the whole ski circuit that Lindsey is back,” Fenninger said. “But I think there are about four to five girls, including me, who can beat her. Nobody is unbeatable.”

Instead of linking her success to Vonn’s absence, Fenninger credits her failed 2010 Olympic bid.

Going into the Vancouver Games, Fenninger, then 20, was a rising star on the Austrian team. She had placed fourth in super-G at the 2009 world championships in Val d’Isère, France, and was eager to prove herself on the global stage.

But in Whistler, British Columbia, where the Olympic alpine skiing events were held, she had trouble with the snow conditions, the media frenzy and the pressure to perform.

She walked away from the 2010 Games with 16th-place finishes in super-G and super combined, a 25th-place finish in downhill and a steely determination to redeem herself after her defeat.

“I was really disappointed,” Fenninger said. “It was a bad experience for me. Then you have to wait four years.”

Between the 2010 and 2014 Winter Games, Fenninger focused on one thing: Olympic glory. She hired a new service man, revamped her fitness routine, tested hundreds of skis and learned everything she could about her equipment.

“It was like a new start,” she said. “It worked from the first day.”

In February 2011, Fenninger won gold in super-G at the alpine world championships in Garmisch, Germany, which helped her rediscover her faith in herself and her skiing.

“I was world champion, but I hadn’t skied at my limit,” she said. “I knew there could be so much more. That was a really big step. Then every year, I got better and better, and I got my confidence back.”

She moved up in the overall standings, from 12th in 2011, to fifth in 2012, to third in 2013, and finally to No. 1 in 2014, a year in which she collected two World Cup titles, two Olympic medals — and redemption.

“I had to learn a lot in those years between Vancouver and Sochi, and they were very important for my win in Sochi,” she said.

Going into this weekend’s races in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Fenninger has five podium finishes this season, including one win, and is second in the overall standings, 331 points behind Tina Maze of Slovenia. Fenninger leads the super-G rankings after finishing second to Vonn on Monday in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

Although she is skiing well, Fenninger has struggled with delivering consistent results across all disciplines.

“What is missing at the moment is the total consistency to be at the very top in every race,” said Meinhard Tatschl, a coach for the Austrian women’s team.

Although Fenninger will not say so, there is something else in her way: Vonn. With five top-three finishes in the season’s eight speed events, Vonn has demonstrated that she is back in prime form after missing nearly two seasons because of an injured right knee.

“I concentrate on my performance, and I always give my best,” Fenninger said. “I’m not thinking about the performance of others.”

However, she said she looked forward to the matchup with Vonn at the alpine world championships in Beaver Creek beginning Feb. 2.

“I think the world champs could be very good for me,” Fenninger said. “It’s a very technical course, and I like the American snow. We’ll see what the world championships bring. Everything is possible.”