U.S. wins its first medal in team Nordic combined

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The team of Brett Camerota (Park City, Utah), Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, Colo.), Billy Demong (Vermontville, N.Y.) and Johnny Spillane (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) made history for the United States, winning the silver medal in the team Nordic combined Tuesday at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, claiming the nation’s first Olympic medal in the event.

Austria’s Mario Stecher used a strong finish to overtake Demong entering the stadium for the last time and crossed the line with a final time of 49:31.6, 5.2 seconds ahead of the Americans’ 49:36.8.

Germany won the bronze medal with a 49:51.1.

-- Houston Mitchell in Vancouver