BLAST FROM THE PAST ... bill koch

WATCH THE SLIDESHOW HERE. There were other key figures in the evolution of nordic sports in America, but Bill Koch is the guy that put it on everyone's radar screen. It was also a pivotal time in America, as the interest in him (and cross country skiing) dovetailed with the fitness/running boom. Essentially, his silver medal at the 1976 Olympics in Seefeld turned him into the nordic version of Bill Rodgers and a frank Shorter. I remember skiing in the 1982 national 50k championship, they flew him back from the World Cup circuit to do the race for training. It was a poor snow year, so we had to ski on an 8k loop, and it was blue klister conditions ... I was passed many times by Kochie ... He was at the top of his game and even though he was just training he beat the field by 15-20 minutes. All of America's recent successes were inspired by him.