Meet Johnny Spillane, Team USA's First Ever Nordic Combined Medalist

Johnny Spillane became the first American athlete to ever win a medal in the Nordic combined competition on Sunday when he finished second at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Nordic combined, a mixture of ski jumping and cross-country skiing, has been in the Olympic Games since 1924, but no U.S. skier had ever finished on the podium.

Spillane, from Steamboat Springs, CO, started the 10km cross-country ski in fourth place, 44 seconds behind the leader Janne Ryynaenen, after a jump of 124.5 meters.

Using a late surge, Spillane took the lead with less than 800 meters remaining but was unable to hold off a hard-charging Jason Lamy Chappius of France for the gold medal. Chappius edged Spillane by 0.4 seconds, the closest finish in Olympic history for any Nordic combined event.

Here are seven things you never knew about Team USA's newest medal-winning Olympian.

Starting Early

Johnny Spillane started ski jumping at Howelsen Hill, in Steamboat, Colorado at the age of nine. It is the same venue that attracted current teammates Todd Lodwick and Bryan Fletcher, and earlier, head coach Dave Jarrett.

A House With a View

Spillane grew up just a stone's throw from the imposing Steamboat ski jump and he told NBC that it was the first thing he would see when he walked out the door every morning.

For the first couple of years, he used Alpine skis instead of the longer and sturdier ski jumping skis.

Spillane took up cross-country skiing in earnest at age 12, three years after he took to the ski jumping slopes for the first time.

World Championship Success

Spillane won the sprint title at the 2003 Worlds in Val di Fiamme, Italy, beating fellow Olympians Todd Lodwick and Bill Demong to a World Cup win by almost six years.

Fishing With the Dogs

Spillane's favorite hobby is fly-fishing, and he enjoys working as a fly-fishing guide throughout the summer months. He goes out in the water with his wife Hilary and their two English bulldogs, Maynard and Hayduke.

No-Fly Zone

Spillane, no stranger to launching through the air, is actually afraid of flying.

"I hate it. I just sit there and suffer. From the time the wheels come up to the time they go down, I'm not having any fun," Spillane told NBC.

Halftime Show

Spillane (left), freestyle skier Casey Puckett, and Alpine skier Marco Sullivan were honored at halftime of the Denver Broncos' game versus the Pittsburgh Steelers in November 2009.

Superstition

Spillane always takes a lion’s claw with him everywhere he goes. He says that in Africa it’s supposed to give you bravery.