STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — Germany's Ronny Ackermann showed American ski fans Tuesday why he is quickly developing into the Nordic combined gold medal favorite for the 2002 Winter Games.
Ackermann enlisted solid ski jumping and aggressive cross country racing to win the sprint event of the annual Ski Town USA Classic in Steamboat Springs. Tuesday's victory marked the third World Cup victory for the German in this season's Nordic combined World Cup season. In fact, Ackermann has made a trip to the medal podium in all but one of the season's seven World Cup competitions.
"It was a really good day for me . . . (my) cross country skiing was great," Ackermann said.
The Americans again posted respectable marks Tuesday. Matt Dayton enjoyed a career-best fifth-place finish while Steamboat native Todd Lodwick finished sixth. A trio of U.S. Nordic combiners placed second, sixth and 10th during Sunday's World Cup event.
Ackermann was fourth following the jump competition Tuesday after landing a 114.5-meter jump on Steamboat's 114K hill. That jump allowed him to start the 7.5-kilometer cross country race just 17 seconds behind jump leader Jaakko Tallus of Finland and 10 seconds behind Lodwick.
Ackermann skied aggressively from the start, quickly catching Tallus and Lodwick, who took a spill early in the race. Ackermann was never really challenged from that point, comfortably winning the race and the Nordic combined competition 10 seconds ahead of Finland's Samppa Lajunen. Last year's World Cup champ, Felix Gottwald of Austria, placed third Tuesday.
While strong performances from Ackermann, Lodwick, Gottwald and other top combiners were expected at Steamboat, high finishes from Dayton took many by surprise. He topped Sunday's sixth-place finish with a spot in the top five Tuesday. The 24-year-old Coloradan is still learning the sport. He did not start ski jumping until he was almost 19 and had not competed in any World Cup events this season prior to Steamboat because he was healing after taking a couple of nasty ski-jump falls in Europe.
U.S. Nordic combined athletic coach Jan-Erik Aalbu — a veteran teacher who has coached the powerful Norwegian team — said he has never seen a Nordic athlete progress on such a steep learning curve as Dayton.
"If someone had told me there was a guy who started jumping when he was 18 and was going to be number five (in a World Cup competition) I would have laughed really loud," Aalbu said.
Dayton admitted to being a little surprised himself at his recent success after injuries prevented him from training regularly.
While the World Cup competitions ended Tuesday, American Nordic combiners will remain in Steamboat Wednesday to participate in the U.S. Gold Cup. The national competition will give local athletes such as Lodwick and Dayton a chance to make a few extra bucks — and emerging American Nordic combiners an opportunity to secure a spot on the 2002 Olympic team. The winner of the event will be awarded automatic membership on the squad.
The country's top ski jumpers were also scheduled to compete Wednesday, hoping to win prize money and a spot on the Olympic ski jumping team.
E-mail: jswensen@desnews.com