Listed at the bottom of a U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association (USSA) press release Until 2014, USSA managed the U.S. Nordic Combined Team. The team is now run by USA Nordic, yet Jarrett’s position has remained under USSA’s umbrella — they continued to pay his salary. With the 2014 split, Jarrett’s responsibilities grew as he took on both coaching duties as well as some of the logistics of running a team. “Honestly, it’s amazing he lasted as long...
In three Olympic competitions in Sochi, U.S. Nordic Combined didn't end up with the fairy tale some had come to expect after the 2010 Vancouver Games. But with icons in Billy Demong and Todd Lodwick likely in their last Olympics, the story was more about the team closing one book and opening another.
While U.S. Nordic Combined undoubtedly has its work cut out for its four-man team, Thursday marks the day they've been looking forward to at this Olympics: the 4 x 5 k team event.
After two Americans finished in the top 30 of the first nordic-combined competition at the Sochi Olympics, the team is looking for better performances in today's large hill/10 k -- of which Billy Demong is the defending Olympic champion.
Kikkan Randall was nominated to carry the U.S. flag at opening ceremonies, Susan Dunklee voted on the flagbearer, and Todd Lodwick was ultimately chosen. We checked in with Randall and Dunklee about the process, which is uniquely democratic - most national committees just pick someone without consulting athletes. But Dunklee questioned why the diverse U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association received only one vote.
With the Olympics starting Thursday and jam-packed week behind us, it’s almost futile to try and recap it all. But here’s the lowdown of what happened: The Junior/U23 World Champion began in Val di Fiemme, Italy, the final World Cup weekend before the Olympics took place in Toblach, Italy and NorAm racing continued at the Eastern Canadian Championships in Cantly, Quebec.
The U.S. Cross-Country and Nordic Combined teams officially announced their athlete selections for the 2014 Winter Olympics, which start in just over two weeks in Sochi, Russia.
"I’m a firm believer that things happen in life for a reason," Todd Lodwick said Tuesday afternoon while icing his shoulder at the Center of Excellence in Park City, Utah. Four days after a "fluky" crash in a provisional jump in France, the U.S. Nordic Combined veteran is rehabbing stateside. "We’re going to move forward with every intention to go to the Olympic Games," he said.
It was a spectacular weekend for sprinting as the World Cup continued in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic with both a individual and team sprint. FasterSkier was also on site at the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Midway, Ut., which concluded with a classic sprint on Friday.
Todd Lodwick crashed Friday during the provisional round at a World Cup event in Chaux Neuve, France, and injured his shoulder. Lodwick, who recently qualified to compete in his sixth Olympic Winter Games next month in Sochi, Russia, now heads back to Park City, Utah where he will get further evaluation and begin rehab on his shoulder with the goal of being ready to compete next month.
Todd Lodwick hadn’t felt nerves like he experienced last Saturday in a long time. The U.S. Nordic Combined veteran was about to see if he could make his sixth Olympic team at the U.S. Olympic trials on Dec. 28. He came out on top of the individual 10-kilometer competition in Park City and made history as the first American to qualify for six Winter Olympics. "If I touch one kid to help them achieve their dream, then I consider my career a success," Lodwick says.
Wondering why Billy Demong was competing at the Continental Cup this week in Utah? Things are definitely not derailing for the U.S. Nordic Combined veteran or his teammates back in Europe -- in fact, they're right on track. On Thursday, Demong secured the team's fifth World Cup quota spot.
From the cross-country World Cup in Davos, Switzerland, to U.S. Nordic Combined's best finish in a team sprint in Ramsau, Austria, to five straight days of biathlon races in Annecy, France: here's everything you didn’t get to read about over the weekend.
Extraordinary performances are becoming ordinary for the North American contingent this year as new stars emerge, historic results accumulate, and expectations continue to grow. FasterSkier was on site in Davos, Switzerland, where five USST members raced to the top 30 in Saturday's distance races and six made the heats in Sunday's sprints.
Bryan Fletcher and Todd Lodwick narrowly missed the podium in the 2 x 7.5-kilometer sprint in Ramsau, Austria, finishing fourth for U.S. Nordic Combined's best result in a team sprint. "We train all summer and to have a result like [this] is humbling,” Lodwick says. “We’re really, really proud to put Norway in its place and to know that we are the fastest team out there, whether it’s by a second or ten seconds, it doesn’t matter."
Billy Demong put himself in fighting position and went on to win Sunday's 10 k rollerski at U.S. Nordic Combined Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y., holding off the Fletcher brothers for his ninth national title.
Billy Demong’s in for a big weekend. A short detour to his old stomping grounds in Lake Placid, N.Y., for the US Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships this weekend will be followed by a Monday morning flight to Europe for his team’s final overseas training camp in Austria and Germany.
When Taylor Fletcher jumps just a bit farther on the hill it will be a frightening day for nordic combined world. In the penultimate World Cup of the season on Friday in Oslo, Norway, the 22-year-old skied the fastest 10 k time of the day by 17 seconds to move from 23rd after the jumping competition to fifth at the end of the cross-country race. Fletcher led three Americans in the top 15.
The U.S. Nordic Combined team of Taylor Fletcher, Bryan Fletcher, Todd Lodwick and Billy Demong rose to bronze on Sunday for a historic World Championships medal in a team event. Relieved and excited, they also had a lot of fun.
After a not-so-hot day on the normal hill in Predazzo, the U.S. Nordic Combined Team relied on Bryan Fletcher to capture a top 15, which he did in 14th, while Demong settled for 23rd, Taylor Fletcher was 25th and Todd Lodwick placed 35th.