Nordic Notes: Busy Worlds Menu Saturday

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

Sat, Mar  3, 2007 - By US Ski Team

SAPPORO, Japan (March 2) - The Camerota twins, Brett and Eric (both Park City, UT), will join veterans Bill Demong (Vermontville, NY) and Johnny Spillane (Steamboat Springs, CO) in the nordic combined individual event Saturday at Worlds.

The traditional combined event mixes two rounds of jumping on the normal hill - in this case, Miyanomori, a 100-meter hill - and a 15K race at Shirahata.

Coaches Lasse Ottesen and Dave Jarrett named the final foursome Friday night following the final day of training. After the championships, Demong, Spillane and Eric Camerota will return to the World Cup for the four final competitions of the season (March 9-10 in Lahti, Finland, and March 17-18 in Oslo, Norway) while Brett Camerota and Bryan Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, CO) head back to World Cup-B for the last six events in Norway, Finland and Germany.

"It was close. Bryan's been jumping well but Brett really turned things around today with his jumping," Jarrett said Friday night. "The winds have been inconsistent but, really, this is an outdoor sport and you can't make everything perfectly equal, so...

"They told us [in the team captains' meeting] it's thumbs-up, but we all know things can change fast here. It's been pretty stable - only that small storm for half an hour during [men's 15K Wednesday]...but the winds are so inconsistent. The guys are ready. Johnny's been jumping well, Billy's jumping isn't where we hoped it would be but even his worst jumps now are so much better than last year, and his cross country is so strong...so we'll keep looking for some good things."

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Caitlin Compton (Minneapolis), the Cross Country SuperTour overall leader who is racing in her first World Championships, will be the lone U.S. entry Saturday in the women's 30K mass start, classic technique race at the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.

The race is the final women's event at the championships, which conclude Sunday with the men's 50K classic.

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The final jumping event will be held Saturday night on the Miyanomori hill where Japanese skiers swept the medals podium at the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo. No U.S. jumpers will compete.