For Eau Claire native Adam Loomis, years of hard work and training paid off for him when he was named to the United States Nordic Combine ski team this past March...

"One of the main goals that i have been working for the past few years and always since I started. For one thing i thought that I wouldn't be finding out till middle of April and we found out in the middle of march. It was really surprising and it's so exciting and kind of relieving to get the news. "

To excel at Nordic combine, Loomis has to be good at not only ski jumping, but also cross country skiing.It's a combination that takes a lot of practice to master..

"The cross country aspect is harder, because you have to put in the hours in to get faster cross country skiing, especially this time of year, you are building a base and you have to do the intervals, with jumping, it is more of a lighter training and a mental aspect. "

For Loomis, one of the perks of competing at high level in the Nordic combine is getting a chance to see different parts of the world..

"It's one of the best things, every year getting to go somewhere new. I went to Turkey twice last winter and all over Europe. It's pretty cool, it's an opportunity not many people get, i am grateful."

Adam has also been able to watch and mentor his younger brother Ben into one of the best ski jumpers and Nordic combine athletes at his age group..

"It can be hard to be a Nordic combiner in the midwest, more people are just focused not he jumping, for my brother who is a really good jumper, it's probably good to have a brother who is a Nordic combiner and he sees there is a future in this."

As for Adam's ultimate goal, he will not rule out a trip top of an Olympic podium in his future...

"As i keep getting better, you got to keep raising your goals, Olympics are one thing, then once you are at the Olympics you say hey I want to get a medal next time, so I don't see why not one day shooting for an Olympic medal or world championship"