PARK CITY, UT (Jan. 22) – A pair of Olympic medalists are among four athletes nominated by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association to the U.S. Olympic Nordic Combined Team. Athletes nominated to the team include Olympic and World Champion Billy Demong as well as World Champion and Olympic medalist Todd Lodwick. It will be a record-breaking sixth Olympic Winter Games for Lodwick, who earned his nomination after winning 2014 U.S. Olympic Trials Dec. 28. The team made history at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, winning the first-ever nordic combined medals for the USA. The formal naming of the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team by the United States Olympic Committee is set for Jan. 27.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association announced the nomination of four nordic combined athletes to compete in in the Olympic Winter Games.
- Nominations to the team include Olympic Champion Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY), Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO), Bryan Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, CO) and Taylor Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, CO).
- Demong is the reigning Olympic Champion in the large hill event.
- It will be a record-breaking sixth Olympic Winter Games for Lodwick, who earned his nomination after winning 2014 U.S. Olympic Trials Dec. 28. He will become the first skier to make six Olympic Teams.
- Brothers Bryan and Taylor Fletcher round out the team. Bryan is currently the top-ranked American athlete on the World Cup circuit.
- The team made history at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, where they won the first-ever nordic combined medals for the USA.
- Athletes were selected based from Olympic Trials along with World Cup results or FIS Continental Cup rankings over the Olympic qualification period, which ended last weekend.
- The team is led by coaches Dave Jarrett, Marc Noelke and Greg Poirier.
- The U.S. Olympic Committee will formally name the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team on January 27.
2014 OLYMPIC NORDIC COMBINED NOMINATIONS
Billy Demong, Vermontville, NY (3/29/1980) *
Todd Lodwick, Steamboat Springs, CO (11/21/1976) *
Bryan Fletcher, Steamboat Springs, CO (6/27/1986)
Taylor Fletcher, Steamboat Springs, CO (8/11/1990) *
* Competed in past Olympics
Competition uniforms provided by Bjorn Daehlie.
QUOTES
Dave Jarrett, Nordic Combined Head Coach
This team is a perfect mixture of Olympic veterans and young talent. Demong and Lodwick have proven Olympic results that have set the bar high for the next generation to follow. The rest of the team is rising to the challenge with international results to back them up. The team is well prepared for Sochi and we're ready to compete.
All nominations are subject to approval by the U.S. Olympic Committee.
