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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.
