|
PRAGELATO, Italy -- Two average jumps isn't a reason to
celebrate -- unless you're Bill Demong. The American Nordic combined skier fractured his skull in a
swimming pool accident after a competition 3½ years ago and thought
his career was over, his Olympic dreams dashed. "In a way, I'm more appreciative of being here and I'm enjoying
the whole experience," Demong said Saturday after his first event.
"This year, I'm back to a very comfortable level and I'm
comfortable with what I should expect from myself." On the opening day of Olympic competition, he finished 15th in
the Nordic combined individual event -- the second-best U.S. showing
behind eighth-place teammate Todd Lodwick. Demong's accident occurred while he was horsing around in a
swimming pool after a competition in Germany, only eight months
after he had to be airlifted off a jump in Slovakia following a
face-first crash into the hill during training. Demong dived into the shallow pool, hit the bottom and spent
more than a minute unconscious. Teammate Carl Van Loan pulled him
out, blood gushing from Demong's nose and mouth. When Demong came
to, he was terrified he'd broken his neck. At first, Demong was in denial about the seriousness of the
injury, but he ultimately needed a year off. During the recovery
time, his perspective changed and he adopted a new approach to
competition by increasing his endurance in cross country -- the
weaker of his two disciplines in Nordic combined. The crash derailed Demong just when he was at his best -- fresh
off the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, where the Americans were
fourth in the team competition, and his first World Cup victory. He
had competed in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano at age 17. Demong spent time in two hospitals and a week in a
neuropsychology clinic, leaving his parents worried back home in
Vermontville, N.Y. He had broken the orbital bone around his right eye and had two
black eyes for a couple of months. The crack in his head measured
seven inches, from his eye to the crown of his skull. He considers
himself lucky that he had no short-term memory loss or headaches
that many head-trauma victims suffer. Demong, who turns 26 next month, returned to the jump in the
summer of 2003 after a year spent working in carpentry and taking
classes at Colorado Mountain College. "It feels really good to be back where I can actually compete
for a medal," Demong said. "I'm enjoying all of it, but it's
tough not to be where I want." Demong jumped 94 and 93 meters earlier Saturday, then finished 2
minutes, 20.9 seconds behind German gold medalist Georg Hettich in
the 15-kilometer cross country race in the afternoon. "I'm not saying it's what I hoped to accomplish because I
wanted to do what I've been capable of doing recently," Demong
said. "But it was the second-best jumping result I've had this
year. I knew in the individual given a certain situation and the
right effort I would be fighting for a top-five finish. Fifteenth
is just shy and shows me I have to take a little closer look. "I'm not going to be depressed about this."
|
