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Steamboat Magazine

Brett Denney

10/29/2013 06:22PM ● By Grant Johnson

Photo by Katie Perhai/U.S. Ski Team

Steamboat Springs, CO -

Q. Who is your biggest role model?
A. I look up to the older guys on the team a lot. Bill Demong and Johnny Spillane have always had a great attitude and have been awesome training buddies.

Q. How do you like to relax?
A. I read a lot during my down time, but so far this year there hasn't been much relaxing. I think the most relaxing thing for me now is being on the road traveling. It's just simpler and more focused that way.

Q. What’s your favorite place to train (other than Steamboat)?
A. The best training camps are in Norway. I think Lillehammer is my favorite place, and we are close with the Norwegian team so we have a good crew to train with there.

Q. Is there anywhere you consider to be your second home?
A. I feel at home in Predazzo, Italy. We have spent a bunch of time there, and our old wax tech (and current women's ski jump coach) Paolo Bernardi makes sure we are well taken care of.

Q. Do you have any superstitions?
A. Only an irrational fear of mayonnaise.

Q. What’s your favorite career moment so far?
A. Although I wasn't part of the Olympic team in 2010, I was lucky enough to be there for our team’s success. That was a high point for everyone, I think.

Q. What does a typical day of training look like for you?
A. Usually a jumping session or cross-country session in the morning and then cross-country/bike/roller ski or weights session in the afternoon. It really varies week to week, but that's the general idea.

Q. What’s your favorite thing about your sport?
A. The Nordic combined community is small, so everyone is really close. It's cool to have such great relationships with people from all over the world, as if they are friends you grew up with.

Q. When did you realize you wanted to make a career out of Nordic combined?
A. Probably in high school. I was having more fun with skiing than anything else, so I figured it was the best career choice.

Q. If you weren’t a professional athlete, what would you want to be?
A. An amateur athlete.

Q. What’s the best concert you went to this summer?
A. The Punch Brothers in Telluride.

Q. What’s your favorite fashion trend?
A. Socks.

Q. Which three words describe you best?
A. Focused, persistent, stubborn.

Q. What would you do if you won the lottery?
A. Buy a boat and travel the world doing all things that are awesome. Skiing, biking, and whatever else I can.