February 14, 2010 February 14, 2010 (Whistler, BC) – It was a huge day for American Johnny

Spillane who won the the USA’s first Olympic Nordic Combined medal on Sunday claiming the silver in the Normal Hill/10km event at Whistler Olympic Park. Spillane is no stranger to the historic limelight winning Nordic Combined gold at the 2003 Nordic Worlds in Val di Fiemme, Italy marking the first US gold at any major Nordic competition. Following a couple of knee operations this summer Spillane began the season with strong results winning his first World Cup podium in Oberhof, Germany in January. We caught up with him after his excellent silver medal performance in Whistler.

First at all, congratulation on your silver medal. This is the first Olympic Nordic Combined medal for the USA. How proud are you of this accomplishment?

Johnny Spillane: Obviously I feel very fortunate to have done it. I have to say that it took a while – 86 years – until we achieved this podium. But, to be honest the nice thing is that it didn’t take anything special, it was just a good day – it didn’t take a miracle.

Do you feel lucky to have won silver but regret not winning the gold?

JS: I feel very fortunate to have won the silver and worked hard the entire cross-country ski race – very hard. It was an exciting but tough race and we were all pushed very hard. I had a tough start because I had to catch the others in front of me, [Christoph] Bieler first, then my team mate [Todd] Lodwick. I was doing pretty well and  felt good which is why I tried to break away on the last hill. I went a little bit early and was very tired when I entered the stadium. I was a bit worried that I wasn’t going to finish.

What did you feel when Jason Lamy-Chappuis passed you at the end of the race?

JS: Not that much… I was just glad there wasn’t anybody else coming through at that point because, as said, I was pretty tired.

Looking back at your morning session on the ski jumping hill, you finished in fourth, 44 seconds behind leader Janne Ryynaenen from Finland.

JS: I had a a really good jump today despite the really bad conditions. I was fortunate to perform at my best level as I hadn’t been jumping well in practice. But I’ve been improving every day and today I had one of my best jumps, so that was very satisfying. After the jumps I knew that it was possible for me to capture a spot on the podium. There were some really good guys already out of the medal race, some really fast guys. But I couldn’t worry about them, I could only worry about myself.

You won the 2003 Nordic Combined World Championship but have seen a lot of ups and downs. How would you describe your career as an athlete?

JS: I’ve always had good results but on a sporadic basis. I’ve struggled quite a lot during my career. This season, however, I’ve been at a good level from the beginning. Nordic Combined is a lot more fun when you’re having good results and not getting hurt all the time.

Looking ahead what do you think about the upcoming team event at these Games?

JA: Look at today’s result list. To have three guys in the top six is amazing. The USA has such a strong team now. Everything is possible.