Bill Koch Biography - "a Future Fantasy", Wins Nordic World Cup, Sand Skiing, Chronology, Awards And Accomplishments - SELECTED WRITINGS BY KOCH:
country cross american medal
1955-
American cross-country skier
Cross-country skier Bill Koch is the only American ever to medal in cross-country skiing at the Olympic Games. He won a silver medal in the 30-km freestyle race at the 1976 Olympics, and also competed in the 1980, 1984, and 1992 Olympics. He was first in World Cup standings in 1982, the first American ever to reach this position, and third in 1983.
SELECTED WRITINGS BY KOCH:
Bill Koch on Cross-Country Skiing, Collier, 1993.
Additional Topics
Koch was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, a state noted for its downhill skiers, and he originally chose to compete in the Nordic combined event, which features cross-country skiing and ski jumping. He told Ron Bergin in Cross Country Skier, "As a kid I grew up with Olympic stars in my eyes—I always had it in mind as a future fantasy." When he was sixteen he tried out for the U.S…
In 1982, Koch became the first American to win a medal in a world championship Nordic competition; he finished third in the 30-km race in Oslo, Norway. In the same year, based on that season's results, he won the overall Nordic World Cup title. In 1983, Koch won the 30-km and 50-km events and came in second in the 15-km race at the U.S. National Championships. He also led the World Cup rank…
Koch became interested in traditional Hawaiian spirituality in the early 1990s, but soon became interested in another feature of the islands: the sand. He brought his skis, tried skiing on the sand, and found that it offered a surprisingly fast surface. In the past, Koch had skied through gravel pits and over pine-needle-covered forest floor, so skiing on sand was no surprise to him. He noticed th…
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