In case anyone figured it was all chin music about the young kids moving up in the U.S. Nordic programs, take another peek at Johnny Spillane's and Kris Freeman's performances at the Nordic Worlds.

Freeman, who self-injects up to a half-dozen shots of insulin daily to help deal with diabetes, came into Val di Fiemme, Italy in early February after winning a gold medal at the first Under-23 championships in Valdidentro, Italy. He sat out the first race-“This isn't my choice,” he muttered-but tore through the second race, producing the best U.S. result since Bill Koch got a bronze medal at the 1982 Worlds in Oslo, Norway.

That mark lasted just a week, exactly. On the last day of February, Spillane picked up the first Nordic gold won by an American at either the Olympics or World Championships as he croaked Ronny Ackermann and Felix Gottwald in the final 150 metres to win the Nordic combined sprint. The complete story in Features.