Olympics: Akito Watabe's tenacity bears fruit in Nordic combined bronze

Two-time silver medalist Akito Watabe won bronze in Tuesday's Beijing Olympics large-hill individual Nordic combined, and said the podium finish was due to his tenacity.Watabe finished 0.6 second behind the gold medalist Joergen Graabak of Norway. His countryman Jens Luraas Oftebro was 0.4 back for silver.The 33-year-old Watabe started the 10-kilometer cross country race in fifth place and by the middle of the race was in the lead, but after being passed he undertook a furious counter charge that nearly secured him gold in a thrilling finish."Landing on the podium was the result of my obses…READ FULL ARTICLE