Billy DeMong, Nordic Combined

The Short List

Name:   Billy Demong
Event:    Nordic Combined Skiing
Awards:    Olympic Gold Medalist in Vancouver 2010, 2009 World Champion
Words to Sweat by™ mantra: Will you break down or break through?

Take A Flying Leap

Nordic Combined skiing is a discipline that dates back to the beginning of Nordic competition where competitors challenged each other to multiple skills on cross-country skis.

In modern Nordic Combined we take a single jump on the biggest Olympic hill often flying farther than 135 meters (or 450 feet).  Then the winner of the ski jump starts first in a 10 kilometer cross country race and each competitor gets handicapped by how much shorter they jumped by about 1 minute for each 10 meters of distance.

Ski jumping is an extreme sport, fast, high flying, extremely technical and requires nerves of steel. Before taking my jump I rehearse in my mind over and over until I can visualize myself jumping out over my skis and flying down to the bottom of the hill, then when I let go of the start bar I focus only on what is in front of me knowing that there is no time to worry about what’s behind me.

Cross-country racing on the other hand, requires extreme fitness and is truly a test of pain tolerance and grueling perseverance.  When I leave the starting line and sprint off chasing my opponents I focus only on what I feel inside pushing myself right to the redline and holding my effort right on the bubble of breaking down and when I do it right, I have my best races!

Where There Is Snow, There Is Skiing

As an athlete that depends on snow and weather for competition I have become the ultimate cross-trainer as well as extremely flexible when it comes to training and competition schedules.  In order to train for cross country all spring summer and fall I incorporate a ton of cycling and running into my long easy workouts as well as some racing.

I roller ski on the road for much of my specific training and ultimately have to make do with most of my year being off-snow.  As such I’ve come to really believe in doing what you can when you can with what you have (as per T. Roosevelt).

In competition season we often have to wait through hours or days of extreme weather that may be too cold or too windy or not enough snow and as such it is very important to maintain patience so that when the time comes I am ready to do my best!

Hammer Down, Demong!

You can find me on Twitter @Billydemong as well as my personal website.
Just remember:  It is always on the verge of breaking down that we have the opportunity to Break Through!