Midway, UT – U.S. Nordic Combined Ski Team veteran Todd Lodwick, of Steamboat Springs, Colo., locked up his career 20th U.S. Championship title as he came from behind to take the win under blistering heat at the 2013 U.S. Nordic Combined Championships on Saturday in Park City and Midway, Utah.

After landing eighth in the jump at Utah Olympic Park in Park City, Lodwick made up a deficit of a minute and seven seconds to take the win while skiing the fastest cross country race at Soldier Hollow, the 2002 Winter Olympic site in Midway. He was joined on the podium by teammates and fellow Steamboat Springs residents, Johnny Spillane and Taylor Fletcher.

“This win is huge. For me it’s a benchmark. I won my first U.S. Championship in 1994 and to be U.S. Champ 18 years later is humbling,” said Lodwick. “I’m very fortunate to be doing what I’m doing and have the support system that I have through teammates and coaches and the people around me. I’ve got a lot of training still to do but this is a lot of motivation going into the winter.”

This is the fifth straight year that the U.S. Nordic Combined Championships took place during the summer. Lodwick acknowledged that his jumping performance was a let-down and that he had to earn back valuable time during the cross country leg.

“I was really disappointed on the jump hill,” Lodwick admitted. “It’s been a hard week for me on the jump hill and trying to be on top in both sports. I hold myself to a high standard just like my teammates do and for me I was disappointed after the jump. It’s not me on the jump hill. I had to rely extremely heavily on my cross country and the training that I’ve been putting into it to even have a chance to get close to the front group. I put myself at a huge deficit [after the jump] and I’m really excited to be able to pull through in the cross country.”

Defending U.S. Champion Billy Demong, of Vermontville, N.Y., got tangled with teammates around a corner on the cross country course and fell, losing time to keep him in contention.

“It was an exciting race. I was surprised that Todd caught up so quickly, but he was strong in Sochi, Russia and is showing that he’s in good shape right now,” said U.S. Nordic Combined Ski Team Head Coach, Dave Jarrett. “Todd and Billy [Demong] got in an little entanglement on the course which may or may not have changed the outcome for Todd but for sure it did for Billy and that’s unfortunate, but ‘rubbing is racing’ and it’s going to happen. I was psyched with the way everyone raced under the hot conditions.”

OFFICIAL RESULTS
U.S. Championships
Park City, UT – Aug 4, 2012
Nordic Combined – Large Hill (HS134)
(jump rank/XC rank) finish time

1. Todd Lodwick, Steamboat Springs, CO (8/1) 21.59
2. Johnny Spillane, Steamboat Springs, CO (5/3) 22.12
3. Taylor Fletcher, Steamboat Springs, CO (6/2) 22.15