OBERWIESENTHAL, Germany – The first of the two final nordic combined Grand Prix competitions of the summer was completed on Friday in Oberwiesenthal. Norway’s Magnus-H. Moan took home the win, while Olympian Taylor Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, CO) crossed the line with a career best finish in 14th and first for the U.S. Moan captured the third of four Grand Prixs this summer, finishing with a time of 28:30.00. Germany’s Johannes Rydzek found himself nine seconds...
Eric Frenzel won the first of four Nordic Combined Summer Grand Prix competition this summer in Oberstdorf (GER) ahead of his teammate and local hero Johannes Rydzek and Magnus Moan from Norway. The competition was influenced by strong and changing winds so the trial round on the “Schattenbergschanze” could not be completed; after a couple of delays also the competition round became a victim of the weather conditions. So the result of the provisional competition...
OBERTSDORF, Germany (Aug. 8) – A pair of brothers represented the U.S. Nordic Combined Team on Sunday in the final Grand Prix staged in Obertsdorf. Brett Camerota (Park City, UT) slid inside the top-10 for the first time, finishing first for the U.S., while Germany’s Johannes Rydzek won the competition. The nordic combined competition was tight, with the top nine men separated by 20 seconds as they pushed across the finish line in the cross...
The Nordic Combined season 2010/2011 is officially beginning with the FIS Summer Grand Prix that is scheduled for 7th-8th August in Oberstdorf (GER) and Oberwiesenthal (GER) on the following week-end, 13th-14th August. The FIS Newsflash caught up with Uli Wehling, FIS Race Director Nordic Combined, ahead of the competitions. Q. Uli Wehling, what are your thoughts about the summer season, which starts at the upcoming weekend? A. Nordic Combined has a long-standing tradition of summer...
At 23 years old and without a college degree, Willy Graves does not seem like the kind of guy who could compete with scientists at wax companies like Swix or Toko. But armed with a blender in the confines of his garage, Graves has invented a product that just might eat into those companies’ market shares—at least a little bit. Along with his former teammate Eric Camerota, Graves, a recently-retired U.S. nordic combined B-teamer, has...
PARK CITY, UT (Aug. 1) – The 2011 backcountry.com U.S. Nordic Combined Championships concluded Sunday evening at Soldier Hollow with Park City’s own Brett Camerota (Park City, UT) coming across the finish line first, marking his first U.S. Championship title. After the jumping portion, held at the Utah Olympic Park, Brett Camerota was seeded 1:14 ahead of 2011 runner-up Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO). Lodwick went into the cross country portion starting third behind brothers...
PARK CITY, UT – The 2011 backcountry.com U.S. Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships were underway Friday morning with athletes jumping on the K90. Peter Frenette (Saranac Lake, NY) and Lindsey Van (Park City, UT) were crowned 2011 Noraml Hill U.S. Champions. The men’s competition was tight with Olympic silver medalist Brett Camerota (Park City, UT) and two-time Olympian Anders Johnson (Park City, UT) landing solid jumps forcing Frenette, who jumped last, to fly high....
If one of his athletes was forced to endure a serious injury, U.S. Nordic Combined Head Coach Dave Jarrett would probably prefer that it happen to Johnny Spillane. Earlier this week, Spillane—the 29-year-old triple Olympic silver medalist—was diagnosed with a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee, which will likely require at least four months of recovery. But according to Jarrett, after several injuries over the past few years, Spillane is “a pro at...
PARK CITY, UT – With the 2011 backcountry.com U.S. Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships just days away, the U.S. Olympic and World Championship medalists are in town training on the Olympic venues, the Utah Olympic Park and Soldier Hollow. The event will be held July 30-August 1, marking the third year the traditionally wintertime event has held its championships in summertime. “The summer’s warmer and it’s more comfortable to jump,” said Eric Camerota (Park...
The start of the FIS Nordic Combined Summer Grand Prix 2010 is approaching rapidly. The competitions in Oberstdorf (GER) are scheduled for 7th-8th August whilst Oberwiesenthal (GER) will serve as the second host venue on 13th-14th August. The 2010 edition of the Summer Grand Prix will feature a few changes. One of the main changes is that as response to feedback especially from the athletes, the cross-country competitions will be held on roller skis rather...
PARK CITY, UT (July 19 ) – Ski jumper turned nordic combined skier Davis Miller (Steamboat Springs, CO) announced his retirement with the U.S. Nordic Combined Team after competing with the squad for three years. “The travel was fun, going to cool places, training all the time and not having to worry about schools and jobs,” said Miller. “I will miss that.” Miller first strapped on a pair of skis at the ripe age of...
New York’s Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) has received $5.6 million in funding in a budget measure that passed in the New York state assembly on Friday and the state senate on Monday. ORDA manages Mount Van Hoevenberg, the site of the cross country, biathlon and nordic combined events during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid NY, and the other legacy venues from those Games. The appropriation is about 16 percent of ORDA’s approximately...
Lake Placid’s cross country, biathlon and ski jumping venues face the possibility of closure if the state does not appropriate money later this month. The Lake Placid Daily News reported in March that New York’s Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), was at risk of losing all of its state funding for the coming fiscal year. The aid, approximately $6.6 million last year, comprises some 20 percent of ORDA’s budget. A member of ORDA’s board of...
With their dominating performances at the 2010 Olympics, Billy Demong, Johnny Spillane, and Todd Lodwick have welded their names to the sport of nordic combined like Bill Koch did to cross-country skiing. But if Head Coach Dave Jarrett has his way over the next few years, they won’t be the only ones people remember. After taking three silvers and a gold from the Games, the team’s main focus for 2011 is winning more medals—they want...
You may not recognize the name Chad Salmela, but if you live in the United States and watched any of the biathlon, nordic combined, or cross-country ski races at the 2010 Olympics, you’ve heard his voice. Along with play-by-play man Al Trautwig, Salmela spent the month of February the band A M Herculis. Now that the dust has settled, we caught up with Salmela to hear what it was like behind the scenes at the...
By this point, Billy Demong should need no introduction, but we’ll give you a quick one anyway. A stalwart on the American nordic combined team for the last ten years, he won his first World Cup in 2002, his first World Championship medal in 2007 in Sapporo, and then walked away from this year’s Olympic Games with a gold and silver, from the individual large hill and team event, respectively. The gold was the first-ever...
Performance of the Year This year we expanded the Performance of the Year Award to include three different categories – cross-country, biathlon, and nordic combined. XC Performance of the Year (men): This season featured a number of outstanding performances, and for the first time we breaking out the award into three categories – cross-country, nordic combined, and biathlon. The challenge, like in many of the other awards, is how to weigh Olympic results. The Olympics...
Nordic Combined Skier of the Year In a year in which the US Nordic Combined Team won five Olympic medals, including gold, and when racing a full squad on the World Cup, was a realistic threat to sweep the podium, how do you pick one athlete. Billy Demong won gold and silver at the Olympics, becoming the first US Nordic athlete to bring home a Championship gold. Johnny Spillane left the Games with three silver...
WASHINGTON, DC (April 22) – The fact that, without snow, his sport would be impossible could be a big reason that Olympic gold medalist Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY) was chosen to be a speaker at The Climate Rally, an event in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in Washington, DC. Demong will speak in front of thousands on Sunday, April 25 at The National Mall as part of an initiative for all involved...
USSA has released nominations for the 2011 US Nordic Combined Team. Led by Olympic medalists Billy Demong, Johnny Spillane, and Todd Lodwick, the team would consist of nine members. Athletes must accept the responsibilities of a USST athlete. The final team will be named later this spring. Demong became the first US skier to win a gold medal in any of the nordic sports this year in Vancouver. Spillane won three silver medals, and Lodwick...