After Johnny Spillane won a silver medal Sunday afternoon—the first of any color in U.S. nordic combined history—his former coach, Tom Steitz, voiced the rhetorical question on every reporter’s mind here. “How do you boil up 86 years of emotion and frustration?” he asked. The answer? Todd Lodwick’s face. Struggling to explain himself and holding back tears after just missing out on the bronze, Lodwick quivered with feeling: fierce pride for his teammate and friend,...
It’s a pretty good sign for the U.S. Nordic Combined Team that a fourth-place World Cup finish for Bill Demong isn’t greeted with a whole lot of fanfare. With 28 days before the first race of the 2010 Olympic Games, Demong and his teammates have already been on the podium four times this year, despite the fact that Head Coach Dave Jarrett says that his athletes haven’t even tried to peak yet. In Sunday’s World...
Used to being on the podium in previous years, Billy Demong started this season fairly slowly by his standards, placing between 8th and 14th in his World Cup finishes. But this Sunday’s World Cup in Val di Fiemme
Today the U.S. Nordic Combined World Cup Team – Billy Demong, Todd Lodwick, and Johnny Spillane – gave a teleconference from Ramsau, Austria, where they are preparing for this weekend’s World Cup events. They gave insights about the upcoming Olympic trials in Steamboat Springs, their World Cup schedule this season, how they’ve come back from summer injuries, what they are doing to prepare for the Olympic Games, and their excitement for the team’s strength as...
Lillehammer, Norway – Two knee operations over the summer haven’t stopped Johnny Spillane, as the 29-year-old skied his way to a sixth place finish in the World Cup nordic combined race in Lillehammer earlier this morning. Billy Demong, also hampered by injuries this year, followed Spillane in 14th, just under a minute behind the winner, France’s Jeremy Lamy Chappuis, and Bryan Fletcher and Brett Camerota finished 41st and 56th, respectively, closing out the U.S. Nordic...
LAKE PLACID, NY (Oct. 8) – Having 19 U.S. Championship titles is a lot of success to have amassed as a competitor. But for World Champion Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO), an even 20 sounds a lot nicer. Thankfully, Lodwick will have his shot at his 20th as the 2010 U.S. Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships hits Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, NY, this Saturday. “Yeah of course it would nice to even it out...
SCHONACH, Germany – Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY) finished second in Sunday’s World Cup Nordic combined competition in Schonach, Germany. After finishing 18th in the jumping portion of the event, Demong skied the second fastest 10K to take his third podium of the season. “Jumping was good today. I was a little disappointed after last weekend, but today I stepped it up a little and put myself in a good position,” Demong said. Finland’s Anssi Koivuranta...
OBERHOF, Germany – For the second time in as many days, Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO) finished second in his incredible comeback to World Cup nordic combined competition Sunday in Oberhof. Lodwick led an historic finish with three Americans in the top 10. “We’re happy and we’re vindicated,” Nordic Combined Coach Chris Gilbertson said. “The jumping is getting better and it’s nice to know that the confidence for those guys is there.” The last time...