Bill, congratulations on your victory: tell us about your race and what your expectations were.
Bill Demong: I had my expectations open all day. I had moments where I thought winning gold was possible and moments where I just didn’t care. But every moment was open. However, I didn’t expect to win the medal until it was over. These Olympics are the combination of years of hard work
What was your tactic as a team?
BD: We talked a little bit about it before. We definitely wanted to go 1-2. And we knew the key would be teamwork. We wanted to keep it a two or a three-man race rather than a 10-man race. So we just did that and reaped the benefits at the finish line. I can admit that I didn’t care if he [Spillane] won or was second, I didn’t think about it. We did the job together. I left enough in the tank that I was able to go at the end. The way we jumped and the way we skied, we know we have the potential to put guys on the podium.
How was it crossing the finish line as the winner?
BD: It felt like I left everything out there. I think that if I didn’t have the energy that comes with crossing that line to medal, I would have fallen on my face.
You have won the first US gold medal in Nordic Combined. Can you believe it?
BD: It hit me for two seconds, I’m still trying to wrap my mind around it – I’ll let you know in 10 to 15 years. For sure, our team has reached new heights.
Todd Lodwick gave you guys a hand by holding on to skis.
BD: In his own way Todd was doing a job for the team. It just shows again that we operate on a team basis. The French and German guys are pretty bummed – you do the best with the conditions you have.
Any final comment about the US results in Nordic Combined at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games?
BD: I think it has been building over the past five to 10 years. We knew we had three guys who could medal on any given day. What started it off was Johnny’s [Spillane] silver at the Individual NH/10 km CC on February 14.