By Katie Grunik | TEam usa

ZHANGJIAKOU, China –  Kendall Gretsch became a Paralympic champion again after finishing 1-2 with teammate Oksana Masters in Para biathlon women’s middle-distance sitting on Tuesday at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Center.  

Kendall Gretsch won gold after finishing in 33:12.3. She entered the race as the current world champion and improved on her fourth-place finish from the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.  

“I’m really excited with today’s race,” Gretsch said. “I had a good day on skis, and I’m happy with our performance. Hopefully, we can build on that for the rest of the races too.” 

U.S. teammate Oksana Masters won silver in 33:21.0, and Germany’s Anja Wicker took bronze in 35:45.3. Team USA’s Lera Doederlein finished ninth.  

“It’s going to be an incredible podium,” Masters said. “I’ve got my teammate Kendall on top and an incredible athlete, Anja Wicker. She’s been my influence in biathlon. … She’s who I embody, she’s the queen of biathlon. I’m so happy to share this with Team USA and Germany on the podium.”  
 
On a sunny day with the most favorable racing conditions of the Games so far, Gretsch took control of the 2.5-kilometer race around the halfway point. The now four-time Paralympic gold medalist made up time in the race thanks to her quick and accurate shooting. She only missed one shot out of the four shooting passes.  

“I really wanted to shoot or hit as many as I could because the races have been tight so every shot counts,” Gretsch said.  

Shooting proved to be a key element of the race for both Team USA athletes on the podium. Masters, who also won her second-straight biathlon medal at the Beijing Winter Paralympics, shot clean across all four shooting passes.  

“I know my teammate, Kendall Gretsch, is an incredible shooter. She’s a fast shooter, and in the past, I’ve tried to keep up with that,” Masters said. “… This is my second consecutive biathlon medal that I’d shot clean for, which I don’t normally do. I’m so proud of myself.” 

The U.S. Para Nordic team has seen the most success at the Paralympic Games so far, boasting seven total medals, thanks in part to Gretsch and Masters. The duo accounts for half of Team USA’s 10 total medals as of Tuesday afternoon, and the only two American gold medals so far.  

Despite their continued success, both women remained humble and thankful to their support systems, who have been there for them at both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games over the last six months.  

“We have such a strong program and great support from our team,” Gretsch said. “… Back home I have a ton of family and friends that are supporting me. It’s so great knowing that they’re supporting me while they’re there and watching and cheering me on.”  

Dan Cnossen competes in the Para Biathlon Men’s Middle Distance Sitting at the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 on March 8, 2022 in Zhangjiakou, China.In men’s Para biathlon middle-distance sitting, Team USA’s Dan Cnossen and Aaron Pike finished 12th and 15th r, respectively. Cnossen, the silver medalist from PyeongChang 2018, said it was tough day of shooting for the American men.  

Both Cnossen and Gretsch have pointed to the altitude as a difficult component in both the cross- country and biathlon races.  

“I’ve just been struggling a little bit with the altitude and the dry air,” Gretsch said. “It just feels like it’s your heart rate is skyrocketing, and you can’t take a deep breath. Today, it felt a little bit better so maybe just more time here helped.” 

First-time Paralympian Dani Aravich represented Team USA in women’s middle- distance standing classification, placing 11th with eight total missed shots. Men’s standing athletes Ruslan Reiter, a two-time Paralympian, and Drew Shea, a 24-year- old first-time Paralympian, placed 12th and 13th r, respectively.  

Several of Tuesday’s competitors will take the snow again on Wednesday to compete in the Para cross-country sprint races. 

Want to follow Team USA athletes during the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022? Visit www.teamusa.org/beijing-2022-paralympic-games to view the competition schedule, medal table and results.

 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)