William Demong (born March 29, 1980 in

Vermontville, New York Vermontville is a hamlet in Franklin County in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seat of government of the town of Franklin. Vermontville is located near the southern town line on New York State Route 3. History Vermontville was settled by ...

) is an American former Nordic combined skier and Olympic gold medalist. Demong is a five-time Olympian, having competed in Nagano, Salt Lake City, Torino, Vancouver and Sochi.

Career

Demong competed at the World Cup level starting in 1997. His first World Cup victory came in 2002 in (

Liberec Liberec (; german: Reichenberg ) is a city in the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to th ...

, Czech Republic). Two more in 2007, (

Lahti Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern ...

, Finland: March 9; Trondheim, Norway: December 8). He also has three victories in World Cup B events in the United States in 2004 and 2005 as well. In the 2008 season Bill had one victory in Ramsau am Dachstein in the 2008 season but his first real banner year occurred in 2009 when Bill racked up five World Cup victories and took third in the overall World Cup standings. Heading into the 2009–2010 season, Demong had nine World Cup victories and numerous top-tens. At the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soó ...

, in Salt Lake City, Demong placed fourth in the 4 × 5 km team event and 14th in the 7.5 km event. Demong won a complete set of medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with a gold (10 km individual large hill: 2009), a silver (15 km individual: 2007), and a bronze (10 km individual normal hill: 2009). Demong retired in 2015.

2010 Winter Olympics

Demong skied the final lap for the United States team consisting of Johnny Spillane,

Todd Lodwick Todd Lodwick (born November 21, 1976) is an American Nordic combined skier. He competed at the 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 Olympics and won a team silver medal in 2010. His best individual result was fourth place in 2010, when he finis ...

and Brett Camerota in the team large hill/4x5 km, winning the silver medal. In the 10 km individual large hill, Demong won gold. Demong is the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in a nordic event. After the medal ceremony held later that evening for the 10 km individual large hill event, Demong proposed to his girlfriend, Katie Koczynski, in front of teammates and coaches at the team headquarters near

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

."Hours after gold medal, U.S. skier proposes to girlfriend".
– Chris Chase Yahoo! Sports February 26, 2010 article Retrieved February 27, 2010. Koczynski said yes. Also on that same day, Demong found out he was named the flagbearer for the American team at the closing ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics on February 28. It was Demong's teammate, Spillane, who gave Demong the courage to propose to his future wife. Demong and his fiancée discussed how this happened on NBC's '' Today'' show the following morning. On July 11, 2010, Demong married Koczynski in Lake Placid, New York.

Personal life

Demong learned to jump through the New York Ski Educational Foundation (NYSEF). He attended the National Sports Academy

National Sports Academy (Lake Placid, New York) National Sports Academy was a private preparatory school for winter-sport athletes in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The academy was closed in 2015. History The school began in 1977 as Mountain House, a winter tutorial program for stude ...

during high school, and competed in the Nagano Olympics during his senior year. In 2009, Demong began appearing in Alka-Seltzer Plus television commercials as part of the medication's sponsorship of the U.S. Ski Team. His mother is a Korean-American retired chorus teacher from

Saranac Lake High School Saranac Lake High School is located in the village of Saranac Lake, New York, USA. There are currently about 350 students in grades 9 through 12. It is under the jurisdiction of the Saranac Lake Central School District, whose offices are housed o ...

References

External links

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U.S. Ski Team Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demong, Bill 1980 births American male Nordic combined skiers Living people Nordic combined skiers at the 1998 Winter Olympics Nordic combined skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Nordic combined skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Nordic combined skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Nordic combined skiers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Olympic Nordic combined skiers of the United States Olympic gold medalists for the United States in Nordic combined Olympic silver medalists for the United States in Nordic combined People from Franklin County, New York FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in Nordic combined Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics American people of Korean descent