French fans were in a celebratory mood after a thrilling men's individual normal hill Nordic combined event on Sunday (Feb. 14) at Whistler Olympic Park wound up with one of their countrymen on the top step of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games podium.
Jason Lamy Chappuis, the current World Cup points leader, overtook Johnny Spillane of the United States down the final stretch of the 10-kilometre cross-country ski portion to win the two-discipline event.
Lamy Chappuis finished in 25 minutes, 47.1 seconds, four-tenths of a second ahead of Spillane. Alessandro Pittin of Italy took the bronze, eight-tenths behind the winner.
Jason Myslicki, Canada's only Nordic combined competitor at these Games, finished 45th.
Janne Ryynaenen of Finland was in first place after the morning ski-jumping portion of the competition. He started with a 34-second lead over the No. 2 starter, American Todd Lodwick, in the cross-country ski competition. Ryynaenen, though, quickly faded and finished 26th.
Lodwick and Spillane led a tight pack of seven or eight skiers through the middle portion of the race, and when teammate Bill Demong joined the lead pack, it looked for a few moments as though the U.S. had a shot at sweeping the podium.
Spillane, a sprint specialist, opened up a 15-metre gap on the pack coming down the final hill with two turns to go. But Lamy Chappuis and Pittin pursued and the Frenchman closed on Spillane as the three made their final turn toward the finish.
"I just went for it," Lamy Chappuis said. "Johnny was pretty good; I just tried to catch him. It was good to have a view in front of me and a goal to catch him."
Spillane took the inside lane, but Lamy Chappuis who finished fourth in the same eent at the 2006 Olympics went outside and overtook the American with about 50 metres to go and brought it home. That prompted exuberant embraces and a two-song serenade from blue-, white- and red-scarf-wearing French supporters on the opposite side of the barrier near the finish line.
Lodwick finished fourth and Demong, who won one of the two Nordic combined events at WOP last season, placed sixth.
