Filed under: Alumni
PARK CITY, Utah (April 19) – Two brilliant performances by three-time Olympian Bill Demong (Vermontville, NY) overshadowed everything else in the U.S. nordic combined and jumping program during the season.
Demong stormed his way through the final 100 meters March 3 to earn the silver medal in combined at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. Since the Olympics and World Championships began in 1924, there have been only two U.S. medalists – Johnny Spillane (Steamboat Springs, CO), the sprint champion at the 2003 Worlds and Demong, the new silver medalist the combined individual event (two jumps, a 15K race) from the ‘07 championships.
“What Billy accomplished this season lifted everyone,” U.S. Nordic Director Luke Bodensteiner said. “We’ve had a lot of good success in the past, but those successes have often taken us a little bit by surprise. With Billy, he and his coaches laid out the plan to aim for the podium in Sapporo, which Billy felt was totally possible all the way back to our training camp there in October, and it was a joy to watch that plan unfold. This medal was not a surprise for many of us.”
Riding the momentum from the medal, Demong then went on to win a World Cup individual competition at the Lahti Ski Games in Finland a week later. A week after that, he concluded his season with another podium, finishing third in the final sprint event at Holmenkollen in Oslo. “Being at Holmenkollen, where nordic skiing is so revered, made it even more special,” Demong said.
