American alpine ski racer Julia Mancuso has insisted that her sport is not as glamorous as it is often portrayed to be.

The 29-year-old is currently participating in the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi.

"It's not all glamorous," she told the Los Angeles Times. "I mean, it is pretty fun to travel the world, but we have to lug around a ton of luggage and that gets old.

"I'm also only home for a total of about two weeks between October and April - and that's if I am lucky.

"I ski about 200 days a year, including 55 days just in the summer months. And from Thanksgiving to mid-March I typically ski six days a week."

Mancuso has won three Olympic medals and five World Cup titles in her career so far.