"Added Focus on Nordic Skiing Reaps Rewards for U.S. Team"

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Added Focus on Nordic Skiing Reaps Rewards for U.S. Team

By Amy Shipley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 25, 2009; E01

Less than a year from the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C., the
United States has rocketed to powerhouse status in a most unlikely
discipline: Nordic skiing.

In 85 years of Nordic world championship competition prior to last
week, U.S. athletes had won just four medals.

At this year's event in Liberec, Czech Republic, the U.S. team has
claimed five in four days. And the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
continue through Sunday.

"There's one word to describe it; it's historic," American Todd
Lodwick, who won two gold medals in Nordic combined events, said by
cellphone from Liberec. "If you were to bet we would be leading the
medal count ahead of Norway after the first week of the world
championships, people would think you were crazy. Well, guess what?"

After 10 of 20 events, the United States leads the gold medal count
with three; Americans also have earned a silver and bronze. Norway has
claimed two golds, three silvers and one bronze.

Not to be confused with Alpine or downhill skiing, in which the United
States for decades has produced the occasional superstar, Nordic
events involve ski jumping, cross-country skiing or both, and have
long been dominated by Norway, Finland, Germany, Austria and other
European nations. U.S. athletes have historically struggled to even
get top 10 finishes at major Nordic events.

"This is the world championships; it's going to be the same guys at
the Olympics next year," said Lodwick, 32. "This is a huge
steppingstone in Nordic in general for the United States."

U.S. Olympic officials consider winning medals during the Olympic
Games critical to attracting television viewers, sponsors and athletes
at the grass-roots level, but winter sports have never been the
specialty of a country accustomed to dominance at the Summer Olympics.

And with American women struggling in the marquee sport of figure
skating and Canada mounting a major challenge in a variety of winter
events because of its status as Olympic host, U.S. officials have been
eager to mine new sources of medal hopes and inspirational success
stories.

With two more Nordic combined events remaining at the world
championships, including tomorrow's team event, the United States is
favored to add at least one more medal.

"Some of the traditional nations . . . I think they honestly were
scared of us, or maybe afraid of what has happened," U.S. Nordic coach
Dave Jarrett said.

Besides Lodwick's gold medals, Billy Demong, 28, earned a bronze in
Sunday's Nordic combined normal-hill event and Lindsey Van, 24, won
gold in the first women's ski jumping competition Friday. Kikkan
Randall, 26, yesterday added a silver in the cross-country sprint
after Kris Freeman, 28, narrowly missed a medal in the 15-kilometer
classic, finishing fourth.

"We're fighting an epic battle here, and we're winning it right now,
and it's a really good feeling," John Farra, the U.S. ski team's
Nordic director, said by phone from Liberec. Other athletes "are high-
fiving us and giving us pats on the back. I think they all realize
this is something really special for us."

At the Nordic world championships in the previous century, the United
States won only two medals: Anders Haugen claimed a ski jumping bronze
in 1924 and Bill Koch won a cross-country bronze in 1982. In his first
season competing internationally in 1998, Demong said, "we would have
killed for a medal of any color."

Fortunes began changing as an influx of funding in the lead-up to the
2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City helped boost the program. U.S.
athletes now receive many of the same benefits -- living stipends and
access to traveling staffs of coaches, trainers and team doctors -- as
government-funded European nations.

More money has allowed top athletes to stay in the sport longer and
gain valuable international experience while earning increasingly
frequent World Cup and even world championship victories. Johnny
Spillane, 28, earned a Nordic combined gold at the 2003 world
championships and Demong won a combined silver at the 2007
championships.

Demong and Lodwick combined to win 11 medals at World Cup stops during
this past competitive season; when Randall won a World Cup cross-
country sprint in December 2007, the victory ended a 23-year drought
for the United States.

Meantime, Van, a 12-time U.S. champion, sits in second place in the
Continental Cup standings for women's ski jumping, which has appealed
to the International Olympic Committee for a place on the 2014 Olympic
program. (In a last-ditch attempt for a spot in the 2010 Winter Games,
a small group has sued Vancouver organizers charging gender
discrimination under Canadian law.)

Lodwick has been the U.S. program's biggest star, but in four Olympic
Games and six prior world championships he had never won a medal.

After the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, he retired and began
selling real estate in his home town of Steamboat Springs, Colo. Last
spring, he decided to come back. Because he had left the national
team, he lost his right to a stipend. He has largely paid his way this
season.

"He's just having a fairy-tale world championships, and it's not over
yet," Jarrett said. "We are not going to stop. We're going to keep our
heads down and keep going."

On Feb 26, 8:55*pm, mike wrote:

Less than a year from the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C., the
United States has rocketed to powerhouse status in a most unlikely
discipline: Nordic skiing.

Why unlikely, one must ask! The (comparable or better) geography and
the climate are there, the population base (within reach of
opportunities) is there, the coaching (imported and native) is there,
the system (junior, college and national team) is there, and the
tradition (perhaps a bit thin and patchy) is there. And with the
possible exception of Norway, the draw of other (perhaps easier, more
social, more lucrative or whatever) sports isn't any less anywhere
else, and neither is the need to make a living (etc).


At this year's event in Liberec, Czech Republic, the U.S. team has
claimed five in four days. And the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
continue through Sunday.

Congrulations! It is good for the sport that the U.S. does well - just
like it is that Germany finally grabs a couple of medals or that Japan
upsets in the combined team event.


"There's one word to describe it; it's historic," American Todd
Lodwick, who won two gold medals in Nordic combined events, said by
cellphone from Liberec. "If you were to bet we would be leading the
medal count ahead of Norway after the first week of the world
championships, people would think you were crazy. Well, guess what?"

It ain't over until the fat lady has sung?:-)

OK, I'll just add this: if it weren't for ladies' skijumping, an event
which at this point in time is a bit liken women's hammer throw or
pole vault in the very early days, the U.S. would have one medal less.

The schedule of the championships was also a bit awkward and more than
three top skiers chose to skip the women's sprint event, which quite
probably would've put Kikkan Randall in fourth or fifth place (or
possibly in the B-final).

And without some rather bad luck for the top contenders and some
unusually good luck for Lodwick - who quite rightly pointed out that
"somebody up there must have liked me" - in the skijumping, the medal
tally in the combined event would probably be one or two bronzes for
the U.S.

But we are not complaing, it's an outdoor sport, the jury's decisions
are sometimes unfathomable, and a guy must be good enough to benefit
from good luck.



With two more Nordic combined events remaining at the world
championships, including tomorrow's team event, the United States is
favored to add at least one more medal.

Well, one "sure" medal went right down the drain, when "last of the
bohemians" Bill Demong managed to misplace his bib somewhere inside
his jumping suit, which led to a DQF. (This was perhaps a natural
follow-up to Johnny Spillane who somehow managed to start without a
timing chip in a World Cup race in Oberhof, which cost him a podium
place...)


Anders

Wow, interesting, good for them. Since this is a alpine group, does the US
alpine team look as good? Vonn is puttingon a show for sure.

"mike" wrote in message
...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...?nav=emailpage

Added Focus on Nordic Skiing Reaps Rewards for U.S. Team

By Amy Shipley
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 25, 2009; E01

Less than a year from the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C., the
United States has rocketed to powerhouse status in a most unlikely
discipline: Nordic skiing.

In 85 years of Nordic world championship competition prior to last
week, U.S. athletes had won just four medals.

At this year's event in Liberec, Czech Republic, the U.S. team has
claimed five in four days. And the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
continue through Sunday.

"There's one word to describe it; it's historic," American Todd
Lodwick, who won two gold medals in Nordic combined events, said by
cellphone from Liberec. "If you were to bet we would be leading the
medal count ahead of Norway after the first week of the world
championships, people would think you were crazy. Well, guess what?"

After 10 of 20 events, the United States leads the gold medal count
with three; Americans also have earned a silver and bronze. Norway has
claimed two golds, three silvers and one bronze.

Not to be confused with Alpine or downhill skiing, in which the United
States for decades has produced the occasional superstar, Nordic
events involve ski jumping, cross-country skiing or both, and have
long been dominated by Norway, Finland, Germany, Austria and other
European nations. U.S. athletes have historically struggled to even
get top 10 finishes at major Nordic events.

"This is the world championships; it's going to be the same guys at
the Olympics next year," said Lodwick, 32. "This is a huge
steppingstone in Nordic in general for the United States."

U.S. Olympic officials consider winning medals during the Olympic
Games critical to attracting television viewers, sponsors and athletes
at the grass-roots level, but winter sports have never been the
specialty of a country accustomed to dominance at the Summer Olympics.

And with American women struggling in the marquee sport of figure
skating and Canada mounting a major challenge in a variety of winter
events because of its status as Olympic host, U.S. officials have been
eager to mine new sources of medal hopes and inspirational success
stories.

With two more Nordic combined events remaining at the world
championships, including tomorrow's team event, the United States is
favored to add at least one more medal.

"Some of the traditional nations . . . I think they honestly were
scared of us, or maybe afraid of what has happened," U.S. Nordic coach
Dave Jarrett said.

Besides Lodwick's gold medals, Billy Demong, 28, earned a bronze in
Sunday's Nordic combined normal-hill event and Lindsey Van, 24, won
gold in the first women's ski jumping competition Friday. Kikkan
Randall, 26, yesterday added a silver in the cross-country sprint
after Kris Freeman, 28, narrowly missed a medal in the 15-kilometer
classic, finishing fourth.

"We're fighting an epic battle here, and we're winning it right now,
and it's a really good feeling," John Farra, the U.S. ski team's
Nordic director, said by phone from Liberec. Other athletes "are high-
fiving us and giving us pats on the back. I think they all realize
this is something really special for us."

At the Nordic world championships in the previous century, the United
States won only two medals: Anders Haugen claimed a ski jumping bronze
in 1924 and Bill Koch won a cross-country bronze in 1982. In his first
season competing internationally in 1998, Demong said, "we would have
killed for a medal of any color."

Fortunes began changing as an influx of funding in the lead-up to the
2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City helped boost the program. U.S.
athletes now receive many of the same benefits -- living stipends and
access to traveling staffs of coaches, trainers and team doctors -- as
government-funded European nations.

More money has allowed top athletes to stay in the sport longer and
gain valuable international experience while earning increasingly
frequent World Cup and even world championship victories. Johnny
Spillane, 28, earned a Nordic combined gold at the 2003 world
championships and Demong won a combined silver at the 2007
championships.

Demong and Lodwick combined to win 11 medals at World Cup stops during
this past competitive season; when Randall won a World Cup cross-
country sprint in December 2007, the victory ended a 23-year drought
for the United States.

Meantime, Van, a 12-time U.S. champion, sits in second place in the
Continental Cup standings for women's ski jumping, which has appealed
to the International Olympic Committee for a place on the 2014 Olympic
program. (In a last-ditch attempt for a spot in the 2010 Winter Games,
a small group has sued Vancouver organizers charging gender
discrimination under Canadian law.)

Lodwick has been the U.S. program's biggest star, but in four Olympic
Games and six prior world championships he had never won a medal.

After the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, he retired and began
selling real estate in his home town of Steamboat Springs, Colo. Last
spring, he decided to come back. Because he had left the national
team, he lost his right to a stipend. He has largely paid his way this
season.

"He's just having a fairy-tale world championships, and it's not over
yet," Jarrett said. "We are not going to stop. We're going to keep our
heads down and keep going."

On Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:47:26 -0500, "Danny Noonan"
wrote this crap:

Wow, interesting, good for them. Since this is a alpine group, does the US
alpine team look as good? Vonn is puttingon a show for sure.


Vince Vonn? I thought he was doing, "Dodge ball Two."




A mighty Hungarian warrior
The blood of Attila runs through me

A mighty Hungarian warrior wrote:
On Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:47:26 -0500, "Danny Noonan"
wrote this crap:

Wow, interesting, good for them. Since this is a alpine group, does the US
alpine team look as good? Vonn is puttingon a show for sure.


Vince Vonn? I thought he was doing, "Dodge ball Two."

No, Lindsey Vonn. Not only can she ski fast,
she's a hottie.

Not only can she ski fast,

Gravity works well.

On Sat, 28 Feb 2009 08:21:08 -0500, VtSkier wrote
this crap:


Vince Vonn? I thought he was doing, "Dodge ball Two."

No, Lindsey Vonn. Not only can she ski fast,
she's a hottie.

Can I get her phone number? She might want some leadership tips from
me.




A mighty Hungarian warrior
The blood of Attila runs through me

"A mighty Hungarian warrior" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 28 Feb 2009 08:21:08 -0500, VtSkier wrote
this crap:


Vince Vonn? I thought he was doing, "Dodge ball Two."

No, Lindsey Vonn. Not only can she ski fast,
she's a hottie.

Can I get her phone number? She might want some leadership tips from
me.


http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...id=111 668805

Let us know how that works out, won't you?

On Sun, 1 Mar 2009 07:07:51 -0800, "Norm"
wrote this crap:



Can I get her phone number? She might want some leadership tips from
me.


http://profile.myspace.cole&friendid=111668805

Let us know how that works out, won't you?

I got a myspace page that was really crappy, and no phone number.

I guess she won't be getting leadership tips from me.




A mighty Hungarian warrior
The blood of Attila runs through me