History was made Sunday afternoon at the 2010 Winter Olympics. For the first time ever, the United States won a medal in Nordic Combined.
United States Wins First Ever Medal In Nordic Combined
The historic medal was a silver in the Men’s Normal Hill 10km, and it was won by Johnny Spillane. Countryman Todd Lodwick finished fourth, missing a medal by just 0.7 seconds. Bill Demong came in eighth place, giving America three top-ten finishers.
The gold was won by France’s Jason Lamy Chappuis, who overtook Spillane during the final sprint for the finish line -- he won by just 0.4 seconds. Alessandro Pittin of Italy won the bronze. Everyone collapsed in a mass pile of skis and exhaustion as soon as they crossed the finish line.
Nordic Combined consists of a ski jump in the morning, followed by a cross country ski race in the afternoon. Lodwick was second after the jump today, and Spillane was fourth. The leader heading into the XC ski portion, Finland’s Janne Ryynaenen, lost his 34-second head start and ended up in 26th place.
More: SB Nation’s full coverage of the Winter Olympics and the 2010 Winter Olympics Medal Count Tracker.
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