Todd Lodwick

Todd Lodwick
Todd Lodwick skates for the 4th place in the 10 km individual normal hill event at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Full name	Todd Lodwick
Born	November 21, 1976 Steamboat Springs, Colorado, U.S.
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Ski club	Steamboat Springs Winter Sports CLU
World Cup career
Seasons	1993–
Individual wins	27
Indiv. podiums	58
Medal record Men's nordic combined Competitor for the  United States Winter Olympics 2010 Vancouver 4x5 km team World Championships 2009 Liberec 10 km mass start 2009 Liberec 10 km normal hill 2013 Val di Flemme Team normal hill

Todd Lodwick (born November 21, 1976) is an American Nordic combined skier and by several measures the most successful North American in this sport ever. In 2009, he became world champion in nordic combined.

Professional career

Lodwick was born in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. During his international career, between 1993 and 2006, he participated in six World Championships, Four Winter Olympics and 162 World Cup events (placing in the top ten 108 times and the top six 74 times for a total of 28 World Cup podiums). His greatest successes have been 6 World Cup wins—including the 7.5 km sprint event at the 1998 Holmenkollen ski festival, where he was only the third American to win a medal of any color at this prestigious event—and the gold medal at the 1996 Junior World Championships in Asiago, Italy. He finished in Top Ten of the World Cup overall standings eight consecutive years with a fourth place being his best result in the seasons 1997/98, 1999/2000 and 2004/05. Furthermore, Lodwick won 19 US-championships in nordic skiing: 11 in Nordic combined and 8 in ski jumping. Despite competing on such a high level over a long period of time, Todd had not won a medal at a major event prior to his retirement in 2006.

However, Todd returned to competition in 2008, setting his sights on making the team for the 2010 Olympics.^[1] In February 2009 at the World Championships in Liberec, he won two gold medals in Nordic combined, earning them in the 10 km individual normal hill and the 10 km mass start events. In doing so Became the first person in Nordic Combined History to win Both the Ski Jumping portion and Cross Country Portion in the same event..(It has not be done again) It was announced on January 2010 that Lodwick made the US team for the 2010 Winter Olympics. He was fourth in the Nordic Combined 10 km Cross Country on January 14, 2010, 0.7 seconds behind the third place skier. Lodwick was able to earn his first Olympic medal in the Team Competition on February 23, 2010.^[2]

On December 28, 2013, Todd qualified for the 2014 Olympic Games with a win at U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Nordic Combined in Park City, UT, making him the first six-time U.S. Winter Olympian.^[3] In February, 2014 he was chosen by his teammates as the flag bearer for the 2014 Olympic games in Sochi.

Personal life

Lodwick has two children Charley and Finn and is an avid outdoorsman. Aside from skiing, he spends time golfing and bow hunting for wild game near his home in Colorado. His Team USA bio reads, "He’s a pro, whether on skis or on a hunt, which led him to partner with outdoor industry giant Mossy Oak camouflage."^[4] In competition Lodwick can usually be seen sporting his unique Mossy Oak camouflage helmet and gloves.

References

1. Two Years Away from the Sport Energizes Lodwick NY Times, December 27, 2008
2. US Nordic combined team wins historic silver at Vancouver Olympics – CSMonitor.com
3. NBC Olympics, December 28, 2013
4. http://nordic.usskiteam.com/athletes/todd-lodwick

External links

• Todd Lodwick at the International Ski Federation
• A report from Lodwick's last race in March 2006
• Todd Lodwick makes history at U.S. Olympic Nordic Combined Trials