The American catalyst that shook the nordic world in Vancouver, Billy Demong has not slowed down since his historic Olympic win on the large hill. Since then he got married, started raising a son and returned to competitive form after a brief break from the sport—just in time for another run at gold.

The 2013 season saw Demong compete and push his teammates to new levels. Demong anchored a solid full-team performance to win bronze in the nordic combined team event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy. It was the first ever full-team event medal for the U.S. Nordic Combined Ski Team at any World Championships. Earlier in the season, he and his four-man squad finished third at the Schonach World Cup stop.

The upstate New York native has been on 10 World Championships teams—an all-sport record for U.S. athletes—and has won eight U.S. titles. His four medals with teammate Todd Lodwick at the 2009 Worlds were an historic accomplishment, a feat only outshone by the following year’s four-medal effort at Vancouver, where Demong became the first U.S. Nordic athlete to win a gold medal.

But in addition to a stellar competitive career, Demong has helped the sport grow locally, acting as mentor to many of the younger athletes that are quickly rising on the international stage. Unlike four years ago, Demong is now surrounded by a much larger core of athletes, all of whom will represent the stars and stripes at the highest level in the next few years.

BILLY SAYS
I am so motivated going into Sochi. Seeing the ultimate goal on the horizon makes me get out of bed hungry to do my best. I skied really well last year but know my work is on the jumping hill. We have made some changes to our training and direction, and I can't wait to work my hardest ever!

FIRST TRACKS
Demong's father—an environmental biologist who's in the woods almost daily—had him on cross country skis by three and racing by six. At 10, he started jumping in Coach Larry Stone's Lake Placid program. He muscled his way into a preseason trip before the 1998 Olympic season and earned his way onto the World Cup tour, competing in the Nagano Winter Games at 17 and his first World Championships the next year. Also in '99, he anchored the USA's gold-medal foursome in the team event at the Junior World Championships. The next season, with Demong skiing second, the team collected silver.

OFF THE SNOW
Billy Demong is known as the guy who never rests. “I think I’m kind of known as somebody who lives every day to the fullest and maybe tries to accomplish more than he should. That’s my MO and that’s what I love doing.” Growing up in Lake Placid, Demong developed a love for the outdoors. In the winter, that means clicking into the backcountry gear, climbing mountains and finding a powder cache. In the summertime, it’s hopping onto a mountain or road bike for a ride through the mountains around Park City. But his true joy comes from his growing family: wife Katie (a former skeleton athlete) and son Liam.