Akito Watabe light on his skis but remains a Nordic combined heavy-hitter

In a sport traditionally dominated by long-legged northern Europeans, Japanese Nordic combined skier Akito Watabe has bucked the trend on his way to two straight Olympic silver medals.At 173 centimeters and 61 kilograms, Watabe is an outlier in the grueling sport that combines ski jumping and cross-country skiing, but he has long punched above his weight while chasing the perfection that he hopes will culminate in a gold medal at next month's Beijing Winter Olympics."I won't be satisfied with myself if I can't jump well and ski well," Watabe said.The 33-year-old will not only carry the weig…READ FULL ARTICLE