Bill Demong and a historic first

Whistler, 25 February 2010. With the Olympic Winter Games coming to an end, one nation was dominating Nordic Combined. Though Germany's (renewed) supremacy and Japan's (renewed) greatness were beginning to reassert themselves, the USA won four out of a possible nine medals.

On that sunny February day, the USA had already won two medals. Spillane had finished second in the Individual Normal Hill/10 km. In the team event, Brett Camerota, Todd Lodwick, Johnny Spillane and Bill Demong had won silver behind Austria, missing Gold by just a handful of seconds.

The jumping in the Individual Large Hill/10 km had to be cancelled and restarted due to strong winds - a decision that was unpopular with some but necessary for the safety of all competitors. Before the final cross-country leg began, Johnny Spillane was second and Bill Demong sixth. Bernard Gruber was leading, but Demong and Spillane caught up and – with 600 metres to go – they pulled away from the Austrian.

It was a historic moment for Olympic champion Demong: the first time an American had won a gold medal in Nordic skiing (Cross-Country, Nordic Combined, Ski Jumping) at the Winter Olympics, with the cheers for team USA capturing a nation’s excitement.