Paralympics

Kendall Gretsch

March 17, 2022 by Tara S

United States of America Nordic Skiing | Athletics | Swimming

Kendall Gretsch

United States of AmericaNordic Skiing | Athletics | Swimming2

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

Origin of Impairment Congenital

Further personal information

Residence Colorado Springs, CO, USAOccupation AthleteLanguages EnglishHigher education Biomedical Science – Washington University in St. Louis: United States

Sport specific information

When and where did you begin this sport? She took up Para triathlon in 2012 in Chicago, IL, United States of America. She first tried Para Nordic skiing in 2016 at the Central Cross Country Ski Association in Madison, WI, United States of America.Why this sport? “[Para Nordic skiing] was good cross-training for Para triathlon.”Name of coach Gary Colliander [biathlon, national]; Derick Williamson [triathlon, national]Training Regime “There is a lot of cross-over between the two sports [Nordic skiing and triathlon] that I do. Cross-country skiing, biathlon and triathlon are all endurance sports, so between the seasons I do a lot of endurance fitness and cardiovascular fitness. I focus on building sport-specific endurance in between the two seasons. I like to train outside, so doing a winter sport is beneficial for me mentally.”

International debut

Year 2017 [Para Nordic skiing]Competing for United States

General interest

Memorable sporting achievement Winning two gold medals in Nordic skiing at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, and a gold medal in triathlon at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (teamusa.org, 28 Aug 2021)Hero / Idol US Para cross-country skier, rower and cyclist Oksana Masters. (Athlete, 29 Mar 2018)Awards and honours In 2015 and 2018 she was shortlisted in the Best Female Athlete with Disability category at the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly [ESPY] Awards in the United States of America. (fasterskier.com, 11 Sep 2018; paralympic.org, 22 Jun 2018)

She was named the 2014 Female Para Triathlete of the Year by USA Triathlon. (fasterskier.com, 11 Sep 2018)Other sports She won a gold medal in biathlon and another gold in cross-country skiing at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, while she also won gold in triathlon at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (olympics.nbcsports.com, 28 Aug 2021; SportsDeskOnline, 07 Jan 2019; wts.triathlon.org, 25 Jun 2017; tri.com, 03 Mar 2015)Milestones She became the first female athlete representing the United States of America to win a gold medal in biathlon at the Paralympic Winter Games by claiming victory in the 6km sitting event at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang. (SportsDeskOnline, 05 Dec 2018; pyeongchang2018.com, 10 Mar 2018)Ambitions To compete at the 2022 and 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, and at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (paralympic.org, 05 Feb 2022)Impairment She was born with spina bifida and as a result her leg muscles did not fully develop. “In my case I basically just had a bunch of extra scar tissue around my spinal cord. When I was first born I had some surgeries and they take out all that extra scar tissue, but as a result those nerves are kind of damaged or just don’t work as well. It impacts mainly my lower half, no function for some of my lower leg muscles or very limited.” (World Triathlon YouTube channel, 25 Aug 2021; fasterskier.com, 23 Oct 2019; triathlon.org, 20 Nov 2015)Other information MULTI-SPORT ATHLETE
She started looking for a new sport after discovering that her triathlon 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 [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. When I got the news that Tokyo [2020] would be postponed, and Tokyo and the Beijing 2022 Winter Games would be extremely close together – six months apart – that was terrifying. In my mind, I was going to have a much different lead-up to Beijing, but now [speaking in 2021] looking back, it is comforting. Transitioning between two seasons has been something I have done for the past five years, and I know how to manage that transition well with my coaches and other members of my team that I’ve worked with for so long.” (teamusa.org, 09 Jul 2021; paralympic.org, 07 Feb 2019, 13 Jul 2018)

TRIATHLON
She was the first triathlete to win gold in the women’s wheelchair category at the Paralympic Games when the event made its debut at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. “I got my start in Para triathlon after my sophomore year of college. I stopped doing sports when I went to college. I swam all through high school and then I took a little break from exercising at all. I wanted to get back to sports. I went to a swim practice, and the person that was leading the swim practice said, ‘Hey, we have track practice after this’. At that point, I had not done any adaptive sport, just swam with my high school team, so I didn’t know that much about it. She then said, ‘You can come race in your wheelchair, we started a Para triathlon club and we have practice on these days’. This was the Dare2tri Para triathlon club based out of Chicago, and that’s how I got started in the sport. I was not so sure where I was going to be with triathlon after Tokyo. I think at this point, I still love the training so much and can’t see myself stopping after Tokyo. The plan is to keep training and competing in triathlon while I still love it. If that ever changes, then maybe it’s a decision of not continuing. I do not want to commit myself to saying I am going to Paris 2024 or any specific year – but as long as I am loving the training and racing, I will keep going.” (teamusa.org, 09 Jul 2021, 28 Aug 2021; triathlete.com 28 Aug 2021)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
She has worked as a technical support agent for a company that provides healthcare software to hospitals and other medical facilities. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Jan 2020; teamusa.org, 24 Aug 2018)

Kendall Gretsch Wins Biathlon Gold 6 Months After First-Place Paralympic Triathlon Finish

March 15, 2022 by Tara S

By Christa Sgobba, C.P.T.

Team USA finished strong on the podium for the women’s 10K sitting biathlon event on March 8, sending two athletes to the top positions. Kendall Gretsch and Oksana Masters took gold and silver, respectively, in the event, just over six months after they both earned gold medals at the Summer Games in Tokyo.

Gretsch—who earned triathlon gold in Tokyo—finished first with a time of 33:12.3, just ahead of Masters, who clinched her first Summer Games golds in cycling in Tokyo. Germany’s Anja Wicker took home the bronze.

“I haven’t really been feeling that confident skiing the past couple of races, so I didn’t really know what to expect today, but I felt really good all the way through,” Gretsch told NBC after the race. “I’ve skied so many times with Oksana and I know she can really turn it on in the last lap, so you just have to push every second.”

For Masters, her second-place finish was a redemption of sorts, since she had to drop out of the same race in Pyeongchang after she fell and reinjured her elbow.ADVERTISEMENT

“It’s actually incredible to be able to line up in this race again with clean shooting, and be on the podium with my teammate,” Masters told the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Gretsch made her Paralympic debut as a Winter Games athlete in 2018 in Pyeongchang, where she won golds in the 6K biathlon and cross-country skiing. The biathlon gold was the first time any female athlete from Team USA won any medal in biathlon in either the Paralympics or the Olympics, according to NBC.

A triathlete since college, Gretsch was named USA Triathlon Female Paratriathlete of the Year in 2014, but was only able to compete in the sport at the Paralympics once her classification was added to the program for Tokyo, according to NBC. She earned gold in a thrilling finish, in which she took over first place just seconds out from the finish line.

The 2022 Games in Beijing have already been successful for the duo. On the first day of the Paralympic competition, Gretsch and Masters shared a podium in the women’s sitting 6K sprint biathlon—in that event, Masters finished first while Gretsch took home bronze. They nearly did it once again in the 15K cross-country event, in which Masters earned silver and Gretsch narrowly missed the podium with her fourth-place finish. For Masters, the 2022 Winter Games have brought her three medals in three events so far.

Gretsch and Masters aren’t done yet, either. According to the IOC, both have three more individual events plus a relay left in Beijing—and history is on the line there. The current record for the most medals ever won at a single Winter Paralympic Games is six, the IOC says. Gretsch has a chance to tie that, and Masters to beat it, before Beijing is in the books.

CATARINA MACARIO, CHLOE KIM AND MORE: 20 FEMALE ATHLETES TO KNOW IN 2022

December 21, 2021 by Tara S

As 2021 comes to an end, it’s time to look forward to the year ahead in sports.

With the Winter Olympics in February, March Madness on the calendar and a landmark NWSL season to come, women’s sports fans are in store for an exciting year.

Here are the 20 athletes to know or get reacquainted with in 2022:

[Read more…]

Paralympics Serving Specialist Emma Schieck Recounts USA’s Gold-Medal-Winning Trip to Tokyo

September 30, 2021 by Tara S

by: VPM Staff

Editor’s note: Emma Schieck, is an outside hitter from Statesville, North Carolina. She is just 20 years old, but the product of South Iredell High School just had the most amazing experience of her young life at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. We asked the University of North Carolina junior to write about it:

Hi, my name is Emma Schieck, and I am a Paralympic gold medalist. That may seem like an abrupt introduction, but consider it my way of promising you that this long story has a happy ending.

My volleyball career began when I was 7 years old and first fell in love with the standing version of the sport. Volleyball was not always easy for me, mostly because of my physical disability. Due to complications at birth, I have from a Brachial Plexus Injury (BPI). My BPI affects my left arm and means that I cannot straighten or rotate my arm and it does not go behind my back. My limited strength and range of motion meant I had to work harder just to keep up with the other girls.

Nine years into my volleyball career I met Elliot Blake, the coordinator for USA Volleyball’s Developmental Sitting Volleyball Program and he introduced me to sitting volleyball. I was hesitant at first because of how difficult the sport is. My arm doesn’t reach the floor, so I struggled to move to the ball and that made everything else about the sport even more difficult. As hard as it was, I loved the challenge and began to get the hang of it. After a long standing volleyball career, I was shocked to find a sport that I loved even more.

Sitting volleyball was a faster and more condensed version of the sport I had spent years playing, and it wasn’t long until I was hooked. I would play at home with my able-bodied volleyball teammates, and they were also surprised at the difficulty of the sport but had fun trying it with me. My first training camp with the USA Women’s National Sitting Volleyball Team was in 2017, only six months after my introduction to sitting volleyball. It was incredible to be surrounded by other athletes with physical disabilities who were as passionate as myself. In January 2019, I learned that I had been named to the team and my next goal became making the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Roster.

That became a reality this summer. Earlier this month, I got back from a two-week adventure in Tokyo where I was competing alongside my team in the Paralympics. Since being home, many people have asked me about my time in Tokyo and often I can’t help but laugh and say it was the most indescribable experience I could ever imagine, but here is my best attempt at putting it into words.

For the entire first week and a half of July this year, I walked around with my phone attached to my hip. I knew that any day my head coach, Bill Hamiter, would be calling to let me know whether I had been named to the Tokyo Paralympic roster. Nervous does not even begin to describe how I was feeling. We have 17 national-team athletes, but only 12 are named to the roster for each event that we go to. Our group of 17 is incredibly strong and capable, so there was really no point in even trying to guess what our roster would look like.

[Read more…]

Carolina junior wins a gold medal at the Paralympics

September 30, 2021 by Tara S

Emma Schieck reached the pinnacle of the sport she loves when she won a gold medal at the Tokyo Summer Paralympics as a member of the U.S. sitting volleyball team.

By Brandon Bieltz, University Communications.

When Emma Schieck first started playing volleyball at age 7, not everybody thought that it was for her. Because of permanent nerve damage that prevents her from fully straightening and rotating her left arm, a sport like soccer might be more her speed, they said.

But Schieck loved volleyball from the first time she picked up a ball at an elementary school “try it sports day.”

“I loved it. It was the best time,” says Schieck, now a junior at Carolina. “I had to leave volleyball to go to the cheerleading session, and I remember in the middle of the session getting up and leaving, going out the back so I could go back to the gym and play more volleyball.”

She wasn’t going to let a physical disability get in her way. The suggestion that she couldn’t play has fueled her drive. She has played 13 years of standing volleyball, and, most recently, picked up sitting volleyball, the adaptative version of the sport.

Schieck recently reached the pinnacle of the sport she loves when she won a gold medal at the Tokyo Summer Paralympics as a member of the U.S. sitting volleyball team. With Schieck acing the gold-medal point, the team defeated China 3-1 on Sept. 5 in Tokyo to earn gold.

[Read more…]

The Most Surreal Thing I’ve Ever Done’: UNC Student Emma Schieck Reflects on Paralympic Gold Medal

September 14, 2021 by Tara S

Posted by Michael Koh

When she returns to Chapel Hill after taking the semester off, UNC student Emma Schieck will have some extra hardware to show off from her time away: a Paralympic gold medal.

Schieck is a member of the United States national sitting volleyball team, which won gold at this year’s Tokyo Summer Paralympics. Schieck served the winning ace in the gold medal match against China. What was going through her head when she prepared her final serve?

“To be completely honest, nothing. I hardly even remember it,” Schieck told 97.9 The Hill. “I remember the second I realized I was gonna be going in, because my coach had told me a few points before, if Katie [Holloway], number five, our captain, gets back, ‘You’re going in and serving for her.’ And at that moment, I was like, ‘Oh crap. Like, don’t miss this. Don’t mess this up. This is it.’”

Schieck is a junior at Carolina. She said the entire experience of representing Team USA in Tokyo, almost 7,000 miles from her hometown of Statesville, N.C., is one she hasn’t fully taken in yet.

“It was the most surreal thing I’ve ever done,” she said. “It’s still kind of processing. Honestly, it really didn’t hit fully until I got home, and was walking to the airport. And I was like, ‘Wait, this just happened. I just did this. This is the experience I just had.’”

Schieck has permanent nerve damage that prevents her from fully straightening or rotating her left arm, but that didn’t stop her from playing standing volleyball competitively through high school. Schieck cited a need to prove others wrong as a motivating factor.

[Read more…]

Memorable Moments of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

September 7, 2021 by Tara S

After 12 days of outstanding athleticism, skill and courage, the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games is over. The global sporting event was a feast of historic firsts and moments of shared joy and pain. These are just some of the memorable highlights.

After a year’s delay to the start of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, “moving forward” had been the overwhelming theme of the Opening Ceremony. From that impressive start to the Games, there has been a stream of outstanding performances from more than 4,400 athletes who have travelled from across the globe to take part; from historic firsts to moments of shared joy and pain. We salute everyone who took part.

Here we record just a few of the many special moments.

DAY 1: Australia’s Paige Greco wins first gold at Tokyo 2020

Paige Greco, 24, became the first gold medallist of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. The Australian won the C1-3 3,000m individual pursuit, in a time of 3:50.815 to set a new world record.

READ MORE: Australia’s Paige Greco wins first gold medal of Tokyo 2020 Paralympic GamesPaige Greco AUS is presented with the Gold Medal in the Track Cycling Womens C3 3000m Individual Pursuit at the Izu Velodrome, Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday 25 August 2021. Photo: OIS/Thomas Lovelock. Handout image supplied by OIS/IOCHandout image supplied by OIS/IOC. Olympic Information Services OIS.

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USA Retain Women’s Sitting Volleyball Crown After They Defeat China in Dramatic Final

September 7, 2021 by Tara S

Celebrations as USA overpower China 3-0 in a thrilling final to retain their Paralympic crown while Brazil claim bronze on the final day of competition at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

USA continued their dominance of women’s sitting volleyball by overpowering China in a thrilling final to retain their Paralympic crown.

The squad, which brought an end to China’s unbeaten run at the Paralympic Games in Rio 2016, did it again in impressive form to win 3-1 (25-12, 25-20, 22-25, 25-19) on the last day of competition at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

It was a fast and furious match with China’s ZHAO Meiling opening the scoreline with the first spike, but the Americans immediately responded with two from Kathryn Holloway and Lora Webster.

Setter Kaleo Kanahele Maclay, who won silver in London 2012 and gold in Rio 2016, was the USA’s key player in keeping the points flowing. Holloway slammed home another spike at 10-6 and the team motored towards the end of the first set, with Heather Erickson taking it in 25-12 in just 19 minutes.

The second set opened again with a point from China with XU Yixiao getting in the first spike, but after Maclay’s 39kmh serve, which was picked up by WANG Yanan, Erickson slammed home another spike, her seventh of the match.

It took just four minutes for the Americans to be up 8-3. China edged back with Wang getting a spike in after a dig error by Webster, but the USA pulled away and were soon up 12-6.

After time out at 13-6, China regrouped as TANG Xuemei, who was a gold medallist in London 2012, immediately smashed a spike passed Holloway. Zhang got a second in, but then Erickson hit home a winner, before Tang replied after a dig error by Matthews.

At 16-10 to the Americans it seemed only a question of time before they closed out the set, but China’s Xu and Wang had other ideas. They both set up a series of spikes and the scoreline got to 19-17. At two points adrift of their opponents, they levelled, but Matthews 11th spike of the match sealed the second set 25-20.

Going into the third, America was just a set away from back-to-back golds. Holloway opened with two points in quick succession. China got two back and the scoreline was drawn but Matthews got in her 12th spike to push them ahead. But Wang was pivotal in changing the score line with a series of spikes and the country was soon leading 10-8.

Holloway and Erickson levelled the score but China pulled away again. The points changed back and forth until China sealed the set 25-22 after 25 minutes.

The nation was more confident going into the fourth and denied the USA the opportunity to pull away with a series of points by Xu and LYU Hongqin. At 21-17 it was all to play for until USA claimed a block. China came back fighting with a point by Lyu, but Erickson, who had impressed throughout the match, set a spike at 24 and the matched was closed out after a reception error by Zhang at 25-19.

When the final bell went the USA team erupted in cheers and hugs. It had been a long battle. On their way to the final USA, who were also silver medallists in London 2012 and Beijing 2008 and bronze medallists in Athens 2004, had not conceded a set. They beat China in an earlier heat as well as Rwanda and the Russian Paralympic Committee before overpowering Brazil in the semifinal.

In the women’s bronze medal sitting volleyball match, Brazil came out on top with a 3-1 (25-15, 24-26, 26-24, 25-14) win over Canada. Their compatriot Para swimming legend Daniel Dias, who retired this week as the sport’s most successful Paralympian with 27 medals, was in the arena to cheer them on.

One Minute, One Sport | Para Athletics Track

April 13, 2021 by Tara S

Overview

The first Para athletics competition was held in 1952 when several athletes with a spinal cord injury took part in a javelin event as part of the Stoke Mandeville Games, which served injured World War II veterans. At Rome 1960, the Para athletics competition featured 31 athletes (21 men and 10 women) from 10 countries who took part in 25 medal events.

Para athletics differs significantly from athletics at the Olympics as athletes are placed into competition categories (called sport classes) according to how much their impairment affects sports performance.

Track events may include short, medium and long-distance races as well as relays. However, they are not fixed since the question of which events and classes are held is determined on a competition-by-competition basis in light of factors such as the number of participating athletes.

Athletes challenge their limits by striving to shave even a fraction of a second off their personal best time while compensating for their impairment.

Find out about the details of athletics classification

[Read more…]

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