In 86 years of Olympic competition, the U.S. had never won a medal in Nordic combined—until now. Yesterday, Johnny Spillane of Steamboat Spring, Colo., became the first American to medal in the event, taking the silver in the Individual Normal Hill/10km Cross-Country competition.
Johnny Spillane skis on course to a silver medal in the 10 km Cross Country race of Nordic Combined at Whistler Olympic Park.
(United Press International)
"To have an Olympic medal is something you always dream about,” Spillane said. "It is everything I ever dreamed it would be."
“How do you boil up 86 years of frustration?” said the team’s coach, Tom Steitz. “You don’t. Everybody starts crying. We are all going to sit around tonight and drink champagne and touch the medals.”
Spillane was in fourth after the Normal Hill ski jumping round at Whistler Olympic Park. With less than 800 meters to go in the cross-country portion, Spillane surged into the lead, but Jason Lamy Chappius of France edged him out by .4 seconds to finish in 25:47.1. It was the closest Nordic combined finish in Olympic history.
“The race was tough,” Spillane said. “There were six or seven guys going into the last lap that were in contention.”
Spillane surged into the lead past Japan’s Norihito Kobayashi opening up a 10 to 15 meter gap.
“I felt pretty good going into that last hill,” he said. “I tried to make a break.”
But Spillane said he pushed a little too hard. “[I] was pretty tired when we came into the stadium and into the sprint.”
And Chappius caught him in a dash to the finish.
“It’s hard to watch that gold medal ski away,” he said after the medal ceremony. “I did everything I possibly could and overall I’m very satisfied.”
Spillane hopes the historic and dramatic finish will mean more exposure for the sport in the U.S.
"Hopefully, this will put Nordic combined a little bit more on the map.”
Spillane and teammates Todd Lodwick, who finished fourth, and Billy Demong, who finished sixth, will next compete in the team competition on Tuesday, Feb. 23. Team USA is expected to be a top contender for the medals.
“It just feels like this Olympic Games it’s a little bit destiny,” Lodwick said. “We’re contenders. And that’s a really good feeling.”
Follow Karla’s Olympic coverage right here, at RunKarlaRun.com and Twitter@KBruning.
This article is the copywritten property of the writer and Communities @ WashingtonTimes.com. Written permission must be obtained before reprint in online or print media.
REPRINTING TWTC CONTENT WITHOUT PERMISSION AND/OR PAYMENT IS THEFT AND PUNISHABLE BY LAW.
