Bill Demong knows all about the Olympics. He grew up in the host city of the 1980 Games, Lake Placid, N.Y., where he learned the dual skills involved in Nordic Combined, ski jumping and cross-country skiing. He competed at the Nagano, Salt Lake and Torino Games, just missing the podium (4th place) in the team event in 2002. The 2008-09 World Cup season was a huge success for Demong, with five podium finishes. With the Vancouver Games only a year away, the 28-year-old believes his fourth time can be a charm, either in an individual event or the team event, together with Olympic veterans Todd Lodwick and Johnny Spillane.

Bill Demong

Who was your biggest inspiration in getting started in Nordic combined?

I was five when I started my first race with the Lake Placid Ski Club. I was probably eight or nine years old when the local jump coach, Larry Stone, came to one of our practices and showed us a video of ski jumping. There were a bunch of us who thought it looked awesome, so the following season I went out and started jumping. It was kind of a natural transition to go into Nordic combined, having the racing background and then falling in love with jumping.

What size hill did you start out on?

Oh, it was like a large mogul, a K10. I was kind of a slow developer. I don't think I jumped my first K90 until I was at least 14. I never really got the hang of it. I was notoriously bad. When I was 16, Baard Joergen Elden, come over from Norway to coach us, and in the six weeks he spent with us, something clicked. One year later, I qualified for the Nagano Olympics, and ended up finishing 34th [in the individual event], which wasn't half-bad considering where I'd been.

When you say ‘something clicked,' what was it exactly?

It's hard to say. I tried so hard for so long, and nothing worked. I couldn't jump far, and didn't have any control. Maybe I can blame it on growing too fast. Maybe Baard instilled a belief in me that I could do it. In the matter of a few weeks, I went from not having a clue to starting to nail some decent jumps.

Is your improvement over the past few years more the result of improvements in your jumping or your skiing?

Both. It has been the result of slow improvement, finding those last couple of percent on either discipline. Plus, I've nailed down the right routines and training methods, and that has breeded success. I've started to hit top-5 and top-10 results consistently.

Fill in the blank: Nordic Combined is a test of ...

... the all-around skier. In ski jumping, you have to be able to handle high speed and have a general recklessness to toss yourself off a ski jump at 60 mph and fly through the air for 450 feet. You need to be light, quick and, most importantly, technically efficient. Then, you have to be able to ski cross-country "like hell," to show cardiovascular fitness.

What's the chase like in the cross-country portion of Nordic Combined? Do you have a certain strategy?

I think that is the appeal. You always know who's winning and what's going on. A lot of things can change. If I jump far and am in a good position, I'm the hunted man in the ski. If my jump isn't so good, I can get motivated by looking down the start list and say, ‘I'm going to catch him, I'm going to catch him, I'm going to catch him,' and when that race starts, I just start picking them off, one by one. Either way, it's fun and a rush!

What makes you think the U.S. can end its medal drought in Vancouver?

One of the big things that will make a difference is that we have some real seasoned veterans. We've made finishing on the podium a habit, and I think our expectations have grown. We expect to contend. That's a different reality than we had in the past. That said, we're not struggling over thoughts of winning or being on the podium. We're staying focused on the present task: becoming one of the best Nordic Combined nations. That'll get us to where we want to be in 2010.

Do you think that having the Games in North America gives you an advantage?

I think so. Having been to Vancouver and seen the Whistler venue, and knowing that it'll be a lot easier for friends and family to travel to the events, I think it'll be pretty close to having another home Games.

Compiled by Martin Thorstensson