Johnny Spillane
{{short description|American athlete (born 1980)}}
{{About|the American skier|the Irish musician|John Spillane}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2017}}
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| caption = Spillane in 2010
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1980|11|24}}
| birth_place = Steamboat Springs, Colorado, U.S.
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| spouse = Hilary Spillane
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| other_interests = Flyfishing. Owner of Steamboat Flyfisher and Trout Creek Flies.
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| sport = Nordic combined
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| olympics = 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010
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{{MedalCountry|the {{USA}}}}
{{MedalCompetition | Olympic Games }}
{{MedalSilver|2010 Vancouver|10 km large hill}}
{{MedalSilver|2010 Vancouver|Nordic combined at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Individual normal hill/10 km}}
{{MedalSilver|2010 Vancouver|4×5 km team}}
{{MedalCompetition | World Championships }}
{{MedalGold|FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2003| 7.5 km sprint}}
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Johnny Spillane (born November 24, 1980) is an American athlete who competes in Nordic combined, a combination event consisting of ski jumping and cross-country skiing. Spillane is a world champion and three-time Olympic silver medalist. He announced his retirement from Nordic combined on April 18, 2013.
Early life
Spillane was born to Jim and Nancy Spillane on November 24, 1980. He was raised in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and graduated from the Lowell Whiteman School.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} For the first couple years, he used alpine skis on jumps, not getting his first pair of jumping skis until he was 13.{{Cite web|title=Johnny Spillane |publisher=U.S. Ski Team |url=http://www.usskiteam.com/jumping/athletes/athlete?athleteId=1084 |accessdate=February 16, 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109005733/http://www.usskiteam.com/jumping/athletes/athlete?athleteId=1084 |archivedate=November 9, 2010 }}
Athletic career
Spillane made the United States team for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, but did not compete in any events. The next year at the 1999 World Championships he placed 32nd in the individual event and 37th in sprint. Two years later, at the 2001 World Championships, he placed 32nd again in the individual event but vaulted to 14th place in the sprint event. At his second Olympics, the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, he finished 32nd in both sprint and individual events.
Spillane won his first championship in 2003, securing first place and the gold medal in the 7.5 km sprint event at the World Championships in Val di Fiemme. In so doing, he became the first American athlete to win a gold medal at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. However, an injury prevented him from defending his title at the 2005 Championships. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Spillane finished a disappointing tenth in the 7.5 km sprint and 30th in the individual. World Championships in 2007 and 2009 would continue to be disappointing for him as he placed no higher than 16th in any event. Spillane's coaches reported that although he struggled in the latter half of the 2009 season, they expected him to be ready and competitive for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
= 2010 Winter Olympics =
{{See also|Nordic combined at the 2010 Winter Olympics|2010 Winter Olympics}}
File:2010 Winter Olympics Johnny Spillane in nordic combined LH10km.jpg]]
At the 2010 Winter Olympics, in Vancouver, Spillane competed in three events. In his first event, the 10 km individual normal hill event, Spillane won the silver medal – the first American medal in the sport of Nordic Combined, and only the third American medal to be earned in any Nordic sport. After the ski jumping portion of the event, Finnish competitor Janne Ryynänen was in the lead. Spillane, Jason Lamy-Chappuis, and a number of other skiers raced hard to make up the difference with Ryyänen in the cross-country portion of the event. In the middle of the last lap, after Norihito Kobayashi attempted a breakaway and was caught, Spillane took a strong lead. However, he had overexerted himself and slowed down after entering the stadium where the race was to finish. Lamy-Chappuis was able to catch up and pass him in the final stretch.{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/vancouver/nordic/2010-02-14-nordic-combined_N.htm|title=Spillane takes silver in Nordic combined, USA's first in sport|author=USA Today|website=USA Today |date=February 14, 2010|accessdate=February 14, 2010}} The .4 second difference between their times is the closest finish in the history of Nordic Combined events at the Olympics. Despite the near win, Spillane told media afterwards that he was happy to have won any medal.{{Cite news|last = Associated Press|title = Spillane's silver signifies breakthrough|newspaper = ESPN.com|date = February 15, 2010|url = https://www.espn.com/olympics/winter/2010/nordiccombined/news/story?id=4914174|access-date = February 16, 2010}}
In his second event, the 4×5 team event, Spillane helped earn America's second medal, another silver.{{cite web |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Olympics/2010/0223/US-Nordic-combined-team-wins-historic-silver-at-Vancouver-Olympics|title=US Nordic combined team wins historic silver at Vancouver Olympics|author=Christa Case Bryant|publisher=The Christian Science Monitor|date=February 23, 2010}}
In his third event, the 10 km individual large hill, Spillane won the silver medal, finishing behind fellow American Bill Demong.{{cite web |url=http://vancouver2010.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/u-s-finishes-1-2-in-nordic-combined/|title=U.S. Finishes 1–2 in Nordic Combined|author=Ian Austen|work=The New York Times|date=February 25, 2010}}
Post skiing career
Starting with the 2014 Winter Olympics, Spillane has called ski jumping events for NBC Sports and Olympic Channel.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Johnny Spillane}}
- {{FIS Nordic combined skier|58002}}
- {{Olympics.com profile|johnny-spillane}}
{{Footer World Champions NK Sprint}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spillane, Johnny}}
Category:American male Nordic combined skiers
Category:Nordic combined skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics
Category:Nordic combined skiers at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Category:Nordic combined skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Category:Olympic Nordic combined skiers for the United States
Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States in Nordic combined
Category:FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in Nordic combined
Category:Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics