Demong runs to raise awareness for sport

Fri, Jun  4, 2010 - By US Ski Team

PARK CITY, UT (June 2) – Few people in the world ever get a shot at beating an Olympic athlete, but last weekend, the public had their chance as Olympic gold medalist Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY) raced with the public in the fourth Annual Utah Olympic Park Hill Climb in Park City.

"I hadn't been running at all before the race, so going into it I knew that it was going to be difficult. I had to give it my all or else I wouldn't hear the end of it from other runners or my teammates," said Demong. "But the run was harder than I expected anyway."

The race draws the attention of local residents as well as those from surrounding areas who want to enter the 5K run, which leads them uphill to a zip line at the 2002 Olympic jumping venue. With the popularity of the race growing each year, a few runners traveled from as far away as Provo, UT to participate in the one day event.

The starting line for the annual event begins at the Park City Visitor Information Center at Kimball Junction and the finish line is at the top of the Olympic ski jump, a distance measuring 5K.

The Club utilizes the publicity of the race to encourage young skiers to try out nordic jumping, which is growing in popularity with the success of Demong and the rest of the U.S. nordic combined athletes at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

"This Olympic Park Hill Climb showed a lot of people that there is an amazing facility right here in their own backyard. It allowed them to see just how fun and competitive the sport truly is," said Demong. "There are still not a lot of people that are aware of what the Vancouver Games did for the U.S. Nordic Combined Ski Team."

To find out more about the Park City Nordic Ski Club click here: http://www.nsfparkcity.org/