
Having only taken up Nordic skiing in 2016, Kendall Gretsch won two golds in women’s biathlon sprint and cross-country long distance sitting at her maiden Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, in 2018.
She also became the first female athlete representing the USA to win a gold medal in biathlon.
“Going into the Games I was just hoping to maybe win a medal, so to win two golds was incredible. I still feel pretty new to the sport so I'm trying to take all races as learning experiences. There's a lot you can learn by practising and training but on some level, you just have to get into races and do them to get better."
Gretsch works as technical support for a company that provides health care software to hospitals and other medical facilities.
Biography
Impairment information
Further personal information
Sport specific information
International debut
General interest
She was named the 2014 Female Para Triathlete of the Year by USA Triathlon. (fasterskier.com, 11 Sep 2018)
She is a three-time world champion in Para triathlon, but she started looking for a new sport after discovering her category would not be part of the programme at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. She took up Para Nordic skiing during the 2015/16 season, and went on to win gold in both biathlon and cross-country skiing at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. "I wanted to find another sport where I would have the chance to go to the Paralympics. I think this one [Para Nordic skiing] has been the tougher sport for me to pick up. I think triathlon came a little bit more naturally to me. It's a tough sport and I loved it just being outside and being able to ski. I think that's one thing that I like between the two sports is that you are travelling around the world and you get to race in beautiful venues." (paralympic.org, 07 Feb 2019, 13 Jul 2018)
OCCUPATION
She works as technical support for a company that provides health care software to hospitals and other medical facilities. (teamusa.org, 24 Aug 2018)
Results
Unit | Date | Rank |
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Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
Women's 6km Sitting | Final | 2018-03-10 | 1 | |
Women's 12km Sitting | Final | 2018-03-11 | 1 | |
Women's 10km Sitting | Final | 2018-03-13 | 4 | |
Women's 1.1km Sprint Sitting | Final | 2018-03-14 | 7 | |
Women's 12.5km Sitting | Final | 2018-03-16 | 8 | |
Women's 5km Sitting | Final | 2018-03-17 | 6 | |
4x2.5km Mixed Relay | Final | 2018-03-18 | 7 |
Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
Women's Middle Distance Sitting | Final | 2019-02-16 | 2 | |
Women's Middle Distance - Free Style Sitting | Final | 2019-02-17 | 2 | |
Women's Sprint - Free Style Sitting | Final | 2019-02-18 | 3 | |
Women's Sprint Sitting | Final | 2019-02-20 | 2 | |
Women's Long Distance Sitting | Final | 2019-02-21 | 1 | |
Women's Long Distance - Classic Sitting | Final | 2019-02-24 | 2 |