Chad Hedrick (born April 17, 1977) is an American

inline speed skater Inline speed skating is the roller sport of racing on inline skates. The sport may also be called ''inline racing'' by participants. Although it primarily evolved from racing on traditional roller skates, the sport is similar enough to ice ...

and ice speed skater. He was born in

Spring, Texas Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston in Harris County, Texas, United States, part of the metropolitan area. The population was 62,559 at the 2020 census. While the name "Spring" is popu ...

. Hedrick revolutionized the inline speed skating world with his unique technique, called the double push, or DP. During his career he won 93 national championships and 50 world championships, as well as having a brand of inline skating wheels named after him.

Speed skating

After winning his 50th World Championship, in

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariake ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, in 2002, he switched to ice speed skating after watching, on a television in a Las Vegas casino in 2002, fellow inline skater Derek Parra win a medal at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. In February 2004, a year and a half after he made his switch, Hedrick won the 2004 World Allround Speed Skating Championships, knocking more than a point off the world record points, reducing it to 150.478. On March 12, 2004, Hedrick won the gold medal in the 5,000 meters during the 2004 World Single Distance Championships, which were held

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. In 2005 he successfully defended his 5,000 m world title in Inzell,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. At the 2005 World Allround Speed Skating Championships he lost his title to Shani Davis. Hedrick has set six

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book '' Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizati ...

s in speed skating, but these have later been broken by others. , he was 4th in the unofficial world ranking, the Adelskalender after having led the rankings from November 2005-7.

2006 Winter Olympic Games

The Texan raised the stakes for the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

2006 in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...

by proclaiming that he would equal

Eric Heiden Eric Arthur Heiden (born June 14, 1958) is an American physician and a former long track speed skater, road cyclist and track cyclist. He won an unprecedented five individual gold medals, and set four Olympic records and one world record at th ...

's record of five gold medals. On February 11, 2006, Hedrick won his only gold medal at this Olympics at the 5,000 m beating

Sven Kramer Sven Kramer (; born 23 April 1986) is a retired Dutch long track speed skater who has won an all time record nine World Allround Championships as well as a record ten European Allround Championships. He is the Olympic champion of the 5000 meter ...

of the Netherlands who claimed a silver medal. Hedrick caused controversy when he insisted that Shani Davis, fellow American speed skater in the 1,000 m race, should have participated in the men's pursuit, stating, "I don't see what his logic is. We can't be beat if he skates. It's his decision. I'm not going to get in the middle of it. I would like him to be in the pursuit, but am I going to beg him? No." Five-time gold medalist and Olympic-team physician, Eric Heiden, has publicly written that Davis made the right choice in not participating in the team pursuit and thereby not jeopardizing his chances at a gold medal in his best event, the 1,000 meter race. Davis eventually won the gold medal in the 1000 m race, while Hedrick finished sixth. Hedrick added a silver medal in the 10,000 m to his Olympic tally along with a bronze medal in the 1,500 m. With three medals, Hedrick became only the third American ever to win three speed skating medals in a single Winter Olympics winning a medal in each color (gold, silver, and bronze).

Post-Torino career

On March 5, 2006, Hedrick won a 1500 m race in the Netherlands and captured the 2006 World Cup title in the event. Two weeks later, Hedrick participated in the World Allround Championships in Calgary, aiming to take back the title he lost to Davis in 2005. On the fourth and final distance, the 10,000 meter, Hedrick needed to beat Davis by 8.32 seconds, but made a crucial mistake midway through the race; he turned into the inner lane instead of his scheduled outer, and though he realised his mistake quickly, he was motioned off some laps later.

2010 Winter Olympic Games

Hedrick qualified for the 1000 m, 1500 m, 5000 m, and the long-track team pursuit in the 21st Winter Olympiad held in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

. Hedrick lost to Håvard Bøkko in the final pair of the 5000 m event. He would ultimately finish 10 places behind the winner, Dutchman Sven Kramer, in 11th place. Hedrick skated a 1:09.32 in the 1000 m which was good for the bronze behind Davis and South Korea's Mo Tae-bum. Hedrick was the leader of the team that won a surprising silver medal in team pursuit with an upset of the heavily favored Netherlands team in the semifinals bringing Hedrick's Olympic career to an end with a total of five medals with each one in a different event.

Personal bests

Source: speedskatingbase.eu & SpeedskatingResults.com

World ice speedskating records

Hedrick has so far skated six world records on ice skates Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com

World Titles Inline Skating

Hedrick has won the following world titles in

inline skating Inline skating is a multi-disciplinary sport and can refer to a number of activities practiced using inline skates. Inline skates typically have two to five polyurethane wheels depending on the style of practice, arranged in a single line by a ...

U.S. and world roller speed skating records

* National roller skating record in the 3,000 meters relay race (1993) * National inline skating record in the 5,000 meters relay race (1998) * National inline skating record in the 3,000 meters male-female relay race (1998) * National inline skating record in the 1,500 meters race (1996) * National outdoor track record in the 1,000 and 1,500 meters races (1999 and 1998 respectively) * National outdoor track record in the 15,000 meters race (1998) * National outdoor road record in the 500 and 1,000 meters races (2001) * National outdoor road record in the 1,500 meters race (1998) * National outdoor road record in the 10,000 meters race (2001) * World outdoor road record in the 1,500 meters race (1999) * World outdoor road record in the 10,000 meters race (1996) * World outdoor road record in the 15,000 meters race (2000)

Personal life

On June 7, 2008, Hedrick and Lynsey Elizabeth Adams were married in Houston, Texas. Their wedding was featured on the Style Network reality show ''Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?'' They had their first daughter in 2009, a second daughter in 2010, and a son in 2014. Hedrick currently works as a licensed realtor.

References

External links