Vancouver is only 16 days away.

The Nordic combined event is a sport that combines ski jumping and cross country skiing. It is a male-only sport (as far as Olympics go), as there is no women’s ski jumping (other than freestyle aerials) that will be in Vancouver (that may change for 2018, perhaps Sochi 2014). America is hoping that will change in 2010. Three athletes, Todd Lodwick, Bill Demong, and Johnny Spillane, will be competing for team USA at Vancouver. The fourth spot will either go to Torino Veteran Brett Camerota, or 19 year old Taylor Fletcher, who was too young in 2006 to compete.

Shani Davis, a versatile speed skater who was originally set to compete in all five distances for 2010 (he is also a short-track speed skater, but he is not competing in short-track during the Olympics). If he had stayed in all five events, he would have been the first US skater since Erik Heiden to compete in all five events. He is the first black skater to win a gold medal in the Winter Olympics for an individual event.

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