Gretchen Bleiler
Gretchen Bleiler
Gretchen Elisabeth Bleileris an American professional halfpipe snowboarder...
ProfessionSnowboarder
Date of Birth10 April 1981
CityToledo, OH
We're going to have to bushwhack our way through this whole thing.
sports effort desire
I didn't know how I was going to get to the Olympics, and in the beginning, I didn't really care. And that was the best part, because my desire exposed me to so many different sports, and in all of them, I always dedicated my best effort because I knew that's what it was going to take to become an Olympian.
perspective
It makes snowboarding look easy. I've got a whole new perspective about racing.
neck wear
They're heavy. This is not something you want to just wear around your neck all day long.
biggest event games olympics
The Olympics is the biggest event, period. The X Games are the biggest event in snowboarding.
amazing biggest games helped olympics
The X Games is an amazing competition. It helped snowboarding get where it is. The Olympics is the biggest event, period. The X Games is the biggest in snowboarding.
amazing biggest competition helped olympics
The X-Games is an amazing competition and has helped snowboarding enormously. The Olympics is the biggest event, period.
became hair knew ladies men salon swept week
In 2002 the men swept the podium for the U.S., and that's the day snowboarding became a sport. I went to get my hair done a week after, and there were ladies who were 60 in the salon who knew what it was. It was amazing.
catch definitely games olympics trying
I think the Olympics is definitely trying to catch on to what the X Games have.
ate dinner dog hot last strict
I don't have too strict a diet. I ate a hot dog for dinner last night.
failing imagine
Imagine if you could never fail.
absolutely excited happy highlight olympics rather rest slow super tricks work
I'm just super excited to work on my tricks for the rest of the season, rather than just competing, competing, competing. The Olympics were absolutely the highlight of my season, but I'm happy to slow down a bit.
hard means today worked
It means everything to me. I've worked so hard to get here. Today was really hard for me because I've worked for this for so long.
eye successful scary
It took me a full year of black eyes and a bruised and battered tailbone to learn how to do a crippler in the half-pipe. It was a trick that no one else was really doing, and it was scary! But I stuck with it, and one day, it finally clicked. The crippler has been my signature trick ever since, and it's what helped me be so successful in competition.