Speaking with Bill Demong

Bill Demong has a real shot at an Olympic medal in Nordic combined. Demong was born in Vermontville, New York, not far from the Olympic village of Lake Placid. His birth was a month before the games ended in 1980, but with new venues available, he was part of the early development vanguard that came out of the 1980 Games' legacy. He's been on the World Cup tour since 1997 and his gold medal last season at the Nordic World Championships underscores his talent. With the Olympics looming, Universal Sports special writer Peter Graves caught up with him to talk about prospects for the season and much more.

It's often said satisfaction comes from a job well done. Do you still feel that satisfaction or are the Olympics too close now?
What has happened so far has been great. Someday I'll look back and relive and enjoy it but for now, all sights are set forward.

You have achieved so much.
It really has been one step at a time. I had some good improvements as a younger skier and took steps forward each season, but these last few years have really been the culmination of years of hard work and building the belief and know-how to compete at my best.

Let's go back to your younger years. How did you get into Nordic combined?
Well, I grew up in Saranac Lake, which is close to Lake Placid, and at an early age of 5 began cross country ski racing in the Bill Koch League. Larry Stone came to one of my junior practices at Dewey Mountain and showed a video of ski jumping from Olympians right down to youngsters. A whole crew of us were hooked and started the next season. Nordic combined was the natural transition from there.

Did you dream of greatness as a youth?
I think everyone does, but not necessarily in Nordic combined. I dreamed of everything from running to skiing, flying planes, and maybe inventing the next best thing. I don't think I really started to get seriously focused on the possibility of excelling at Nordic combined until I was 15 or 16. But all along the way I worked really hard at it.

Many people that have followed you more recently probably don't know about your accident in France.
In 2002, I was on a camp in Germany doing some summer races and after one of the competitions, we went back to the hotel and were messing around diving and flipping into the pool, which was only 4 feet deep. Eventually, I got carried away and dove in from too high and messed up resulting in a skull fracture and a year off from jumping.

How tough was the recovery?
Mostly with a head injury it is about time. Allowing for your brain to heal and especially the chance of a re-injury. I took a year off from competitive skiing and worked on other parts of my life including going back to school, my aerobic fitness, and even picked up some good construction skills. It turned out to be a great year that helped me focus toward the future and even help me sort out how to get better upon my return.

Did you ever feeling like hanging it up after that?
I let myself pretend for awhile but honestly I worked really hard that year at getting better at cross country and had some good results including a 14th place at the American Birkie. After that season I was pretty fired up to get after it with my new-found speed on skis and fresh motivation.

Tell me about your early national team years.
I was fortunate to be a part of a really great crew of juniors who trained together under Bard Elden. We pushed each other and the current national team and eventually won World Junior Championships together in the team event in 1999. I also had some early success at the World Cup/World Championship level with a handful of top 10s. I think it was huge having guys like Todd Lodwick, Tim Teatrault and Dave Jarrett to chase around who had already been successful at the world level.

And now, Billy, you are rocking the combined world. How does it feel?
It is a ton of fun to mix it up every weekend with the best. It has been especially exciting to have such a great team where we have multiple guys who fight for the podium. One of the really cool things is being comfortable at that level. It takes a lot of the guesswork away being up there a lot. You begin to trust what you do.

You and Todd had wonderful seasons last year.
Finishing on the podium together was huge, probably one of the best days in my life. But being able to take so many medals and podiums was awesome. Mostly though, we had a really great time throughout the season across the whole team!

I know the next question is something you probably don't relish me asking, but Steve Schlanger and I were on the air during the lost bib problem at the World Championships. I can't imagine how tough that was.
I think the lost bib thing was definitely a bit tragic, but it really helped illustrate the maturity of our team to be able to walk away from something that bad and get over it quickly. It became a defining moment to me of how great a team I am on. Johnny was the first one to start laughing at me as soon as I got down. Eric Camerota followed suit, then Todd came down and gave me a hug. It was really tough, but we went home and watched the race on TV and went back to business for the next comp. I credit my teammates and coaches for the resulting medal on Saturday.

Did you put your anger or frustration into the final race?
Nope, the key for me was to treat the final race like a new day and put the past in the past. I think that has been a huge part of my performance to take the good races and keep them with you and forget the bad ones immediately -- selective memory.

So now, only months away from Vancouver, has the summer and early fall been everything you wanted it to be training wise?
I am on track. We've been here before training-wise and over the years I've gotten good at knowing what to do when. I am excited; I just wish it would start snowing.

What do you want from the Olympics this winter?
I am focused on our team getting the first Olympic medals for the U.S. in Nordic combined. I believe we can do it in the individuals and the team event.

You are training so hard and are so driven. What is your current frame of mind?
I am coming off of a great summer of road bike racing and even some rollerski races in Norway. I just took a bit of a break and I am getting into the final build, which will end a couple weeks before the first World Cup. I am excited to head to Lake Placid and compete in the national championships at home and continue my preparation for winter.

What would you being doing if not this?
I'd be an entrepeneur in a ski town back country skiing everyday.

Any sense of how long you will keep skiing?
I'm not ready to estimate shelf life. I see my role right now as to continue enjoying what I do and seeking good results while I can, then trying to lead the next generation onto the podium so I can retire.

William James offered that "the strenuous life tastes better." Agreed?
Absolutely. I find that the days I go to bed happy were hard, regardless of outcome.

Finally, what has all of this taught you? What are the life lessons?
I have learned that across the board, the people who excel at what they do are driven to work hard, enjoy what they do, and play like they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Compiled by Peter Graves, special to Universal Sports.