Bill Demong, the Vermontville, NY native, outdid the United States amazing run of two silver medals in this 2010 Winter Olympic Games when he captured the gold medal in today’s large hill and 10km cross-country race.  Demong’s American teammate Johnny Spillane continued his stellar Olympics by following Demong to the line, winning the silver.  Bernhard Gruber (AUT) took home the bronze medal.

Johnny Spillane (USA), Billy Demong (USA) and Bernhard Gruber (AUT) pose for their fans after racing to their 2nd, 1st and 3rd place finishes today.

Demong’s 115.5 point jump put him 6th off the line, 46 seconds behind the eventual bronze medal winner Bernhard Gruber of Austria.  Spillane, who started second, was still left with a sizable 34 seconds margin.

It was to be Demong’s day, his ski time of 24:46 was bested by only Austrian Felix Gottwald, who finished the day 17th overall.   By the end, Demong had moved passed all those who started in front of him and came to the line with a four second victory over teammate Spillane and a ten second gap over the bronze medal winner, Gruber.

The weather, which seems to continually take the leading role throughout these Winter Olympics, did not disappoint today.  Many of the top Nordic Combined athletes were forced to jump in driving snow and with a tail wind that pushed them prematurely to the ground, so their jumps were far shorter then one might normally expect.  However, that is just how it goes some days in Nordic Combined competition, one gust of wind at the right or wrong moment can heavily impact your performance.

The American squad that has built such a strong bond throughout recent years and even more so during these Olympics was once again working together on this final day of Nordic Combined competition.  Demong caught teammate Spillane early on and together they erased the margin to Gruber.  However, the teamwork did not stop there.  Todd Lodwick, who finished the day in 13th place, moved to the front of the chase pack once he saw that his teammates had caught the leader.  From there, Lodwick was able to slow the pace of the chase pack and ensure that Demong and Spillane would have their best shot at the podium.

American Taylor Fletcher finished the day in 45th position, one place behind the top and only Canadian in the field, Jason Myslicki.

Check back soon for more.

Complete Results.

US Nordic Combined Team – Silver Medal

Austrian Bernhard Gruber erased the margin to the teams of Finland and the United States in the first leg of the Nordic Combined relay.  The U.S. team of Billy Demong, Johnny Spillane, Brett Camerota and Todd Lodwick took the country’s second silver of the Games.

The United States had the lead after the first and second laps.  However, they were not able to hold on to it during the third leg when Felix Gottwald (AUS) gapped Spillane over the final climb on the third of four legs, Demong had to chase hard to make up the ground to Mario Stecher. While the two came into the stadium together for the finish, Stecher had faster skis and more gas in the tank, and he dusted Demong in the sprint.

The Finnish team hung strong for the first lap, tagging just 2.6 seconds behind the US squad.  After that though, the wheels started to fall off as they dropped almost a minute in the next leg. Ultimately, they crossed the line in 7th place. The German team earned the final spot on the podium, crossing the line 19.5 seconds behind the Austrian team.

The US Nordic Combined team has had an amazing Olympics thus far though. It will be exciting to see what they are able to accomplish during the final Large Hill/10km competition on Thursday.

Check back soon for a complete race report.

Complete Results.

The order of the American team in this afternoon’s 4×5 k relay competition is as follows:

Brett Camerota

Todd Lodwick

Johnny Spillane

Billy Demong

Demong will close things out after a blistering ski in last week’s individual competition. Camerota will start just behind Finland, with a 36-second advantage over Austria, with his performance the key to an American medal.

Full start lists are available here.

Finland’s team of Janne Ryynaenen, Jaakko Tallus, Hannu Manninen and Anssi Koivuranta is sitting in first after the jumping portion of the Nordic Combined relay, but the United States team of Brett Camerota, Todd Lodwick, Billy Demong and Johnny Spillane is positioned well to battle for the gold. The US squad will start just two seconds behind and maintains a 36 second head start over the Austrian team who will be the third team to set out on course. More to come.

Johnny Spillane (USA) used a strong move on the last climbs to open up a lead and set up a sprint for gold.  Spillane was not able to hold off a hard charging Jason Lamy-Chapuis (FRA), the pre-race favorite, but held on for second.  Todd Lodwick finished 4th, and Billy Demong 6th after starting back in 24th.

Allesandro Pittin (ITA) took the bronze.

Brett Camerota, the 4th American starter, jumped well and started the cross-country race in 11th.  He finished the day in 36th.

Results

The rain has finally stopped here at Whistler Olympic Park, with temperatures running a little bit cooler. The forecast calls for a high of 39 degrees, with a 40 percent chance of flurries.

The jumping round of the nordic combined competition kicks things off at 10 AM PST. The 10k men’s biathlon sprint is next at 11:15, followed by the nordic combined 10k at 1:45. We’ll do our best to bring you coverage from both sports. Stay tuned!

The jumps at Whistler Olympic Park

SCHONACH, Germany  - The U.S. Team took ninth in an FIS World Cup Nordic Combined event Sunday afternoon in Germany, as the home team got the victory. The American team, comprised of Steamboat Springs, Colorado’s Bryan Fletcher, Taylor Fletcher and Alex Miller, and Park City, Utah’s Nick Hendrickson, finished just under 1 minute, 13 seconds behind the winners.
The USA’s top skiers are taking a break from the World Cup prior to the upcoming Olympic Winter Games.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
DKB FIS World Cup Nordic Combined
Schonach, Germany – Jan. 24
Team Gundersen

1. Germany, 42:49.4
2. France, +48.3
3. Austria, +1:01.1
4. Switzerland, +1:09.4
5. Italy, +1:12.8
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9. United States, +3:42.4

American Billy Demong was fourth in the World Cup nordic combined competition in Chax-Neuve, France, earlier today. He skied his way up from ninth after the jumping round, but was unable to hang with the podium finishers in the final sprint.

Magnus Moan (NOR) took his second event in a row by a second over Jason Lamy Chappuis of France. Austria’s Mario Stecher was third, and Todd Lodwick and Johnny Spillane were 13th and 15th, respectively.

The US Nordic Combined team worked together to quickly close on leader Jason Lamy Chapuis (FRA) and controlled the race until the last two kilometers.

Magnus Moan (NOR) took the victory, with Lamy Chapuis 2nd.  Todd Lodwick was 3rd, Johnny Spillane 5th, and Billy Demong 6th.

Billy Demong broke through with his first win and first podium of the 2010 season.  He was followed across the line by teammate Todd Lodwick in Nordic Combined World Cup action in Val di Fiemme.

Johnny Spillane was 22nd, disappointing only in relation his recent results.  Spillane was in the battle for the podium until 7.4km in the 9k race.  He either faded hard or crashed.

Taylor Fletcher also was in the points, finishing a solid 29th.  Alex Miller was 35th, capping an excellent day for the US team.