Vermontville’s Demong a World Champion!

Vermontville’s Billy Demong finally broke through in the Nordic combined, capturing a gold medal at the World Championships in the Czech Republic.

Here’s a note from his mom, Helen:

What a celebration we had in Liberec! We took Bill out for dinner and great dark Czech beer. Then we went to the medal plaza where there were thousands of people, fireworks, medals awarded and extraordinary Czech crystal trophys were given out; I got incredibly emotional.

You all know how hard Bill has worked to reach this goal. He was as happy as I’ve ever seen him and I was as proud as I’ve ever been of him! The Star Spangled Banner never sounded sweeter.

Here’s AFP’s treatment of Demong’s victory (the link will take you to a cool photo):

Having finished eighth after the ski jump discipline here, he won the 10km cross-country race in a time of 23mins and 36.6secs to give the United States their third Nordic Combined title in four events after the success of compatriot Todd Lodwick.

Just a year ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympics, America’s Nordic combined squad (translation: ski jumping and x-country racing combined into one competition) has been pushing its way into the mainstream, with new endorsements (Alka Seltzer!) and media attention.

Here’s the New York Times’ treatment; and here you’ll find a cool profile of Billy in the Washington Post.