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U.S. Men’s Team Captures First Ever Medal In Nordic Combine
U.S. Men’s Team Captures First Ever Medal In Nordic Combine
Todd Lodwick, Billy Demong, Johnny Spillane, and Brett Camerota earned a silver medal in Nordic combined on Tuesday. It’s first time America has ever medal in this classic Olympic event.
The Nordic combined consists of ski jumping and a 4×5 kilometer cross country relay race. It was the ski jumping phase of the competition that won it for the Americans. Lodwick jumped 136.5 meters, while Demong and Cameroata both jumped 133.5 meters.
American Billy Demong during his ski jump in the Men's Nordic combined competition.
“I haven’t had that many jumps on this hill, but that was my furthest jump,” Camerota said. “It was in competition with all the pressure, so I’m very happy.”
In the Nordic combined, ski jumping points are converted into seconds. Then for the relay, those seconds determine the intervals between teams.
Thanks to their far flying, the U.S. men were just two seconds behind leader Finland and 34 seconds ahead of third-place Austria and 39 ticks in front of Japan.
Eventually though, Austria won gold and the German team took home the bronze.
Earlier in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Spillane won a silver medal in the individual nordic combine. Lodwick and Demong are Nordic combined world champions.
The exciting Noridc action took place on Whistler Olympic Park.
The medal is especially sweet for the U.S.A. They have been competitive in the event for about a decade but not until Vancouver have they won a medal.
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