Chad Hedrick

Last updated
Chad Hedrick
Chad Hedrick (23-02-2008).jpg
Hedrick at a world cup speedskating event in Heerenveen, the Netherlands
Personal information
Born (1977-04-17) April 17, 1977 (age 47)
Spring, Texas, U.S.
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight172.0 lb (78.02 kg)
Website ChadHedrick.com (archive)
Sport
CountryFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Sport Long track speed skating
Inline speed skating
World Cup wins1500 m – Netherlands
5000 m – Italy
1500 m – USA
5000 m – Canada
World championship wins2004 overall
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)500 m: 35.52 (2009)
1000 m: 1:07.33 (2009)
1500 m: 1:42.14 (2009)
3000 m: 3:39.02 (2005)
5000 m: 6:09.68 (2005)
10 000 m: 12:55.11 (2005)
Medal record
Men's speed skating
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2006 Turin 5000 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2006 Turin 10000 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2010 Vancouver Team pursuit
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Turin 1500 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2010 Vancouver 1000 m
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2004 Hamar Allround
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2004 Seoul 5000 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2005 Inzell 5000 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2005 Moscow Allround
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2004 Seoul 10000 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2005 Inzell 10000 m
World Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2001 Akito 500 m sprint
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2001 Akito 10000 m points
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2001 Akito 15,000 m points elimination
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2001 Akito 300 m time trial

Chad Hedrick (born April 17, 1977) is an American inline speed skater and ice speed skater. He was born in Spring, Texas.

Contents

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, Belgium, 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, South Korea. In 2005 he successfully defended his 5,000 m world title in Inzell, Germany. At the 2005 World Allround Speed Skating Championships he lost his title to Shani Davis. Hedrick has set six world records in speed skating, but these have later been broken by others. [1] As of 2021, 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 2006 in Turin by proclaiming that he would equal Eric Heiden'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 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." [2] 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.[ citation needed ] 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. 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

Personal records
Men's speed skating
EventResultDateLocationNotes
500 m 35.52 2009-12-26 Salt Lake City
1000 m 1:07.33 2009-12-13 Salt Lake City
1500 m 1:42.14 2009-12-04 Calgary
3000 m 3:39.02 2005-03-10 Calgary
5000 m 6:09.68 2005-11-13 Calgary American record
10000 m 12:55.11 2005-12-31 Salt Lake City American record
Big combination 148.799 2006-01-22 Calgary

Source: speedskatingbase.eu [3] & SpeedskatingResults.com [4]

World ice speedskating records

Hedrick has so far skated six world records on ice skates

EventTimeDateVenue
Big combination 150.478February 8, 2004 Flag of Norway.svg Hamar
3000 m 3.39,02March 10, 2005 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Calgary
5000 m 6.09,68November 13, 2005 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Calgary
1500 m 1.42,78November 18, 2005 Flag of the United States.svg Salt Lake City
10,000 m 12.55,11December 31, 2005 Flag of the United States.svg Salt Lake City
Big combination148.799January 22, 2006 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Calgary

Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com [1]

World Titles Inline Speed Skating

Hedrick has won the following world titles in inline speed skating:

YearNumberTrackRoad
199411500 m
1995610.000 m
1500 m
10.000 m
20.000 m
10.000 m
Marathon
1996710.000 m
5000 m
20.000 m
10.000 m Relay
1500m
10.000
20.000 m
1997710.000 m
1500 m
20.000 m
10.000 m Relay
20.000 m
10.000 m
1500 m
199871500 m
10000 m
15000 m
20000 m
10.000 m Relay
1500 m
15000 m
199991000 m
10000 m
15000 m
20000 m
10.000 m Relay
1000 m
10.000 m
20.000 m
2000510.000 m
20.000 m
10.000 m Relay
10.000 m
15.000 m
200171000 m
10.000 m
15000 m
10000 m Relay
20000 m
15.000 m
10000 m
200221000 m
20.000 m
Total50

U.S. and world roller speed skating records

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. [5] Hedrick currently works as a licensed realtor.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speed skating</span> Competitive form of ice skating

Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skating. In the Olympic Games, long-track speed skating is usually referred to as just "speed skating", while short-track speed skating is known as "short track". The International Skating Union (ISU), the governing body of competitive ice sports, refers to long track as "speed skating" and short track as "short track skating".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ants Antson</span> Soviet speed skater (1938–2015)

Ants Antson was an Estonian speed skater who competed for the Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shani Davis</span> American speed skater

Shani Earl Davis is an American former speed skater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sven Kramer</span> Dutch speed skater

Sven Kramer 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 meters at the Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics, and won a record 21 gold medals at the World Single Distance Championships; eight in the 5000 meters, five in the 10,000 meters, and eight in the team pursuit. Kramer used to be the world record holder in the team pursuit and broke the world records in the 5000 meter and 10,000 meter events three times. By winning the 2010 World Allround Championship, Kramer became the first speed skater in history to win four consecutive world allround championships and eight consecutive international all round championships. He was undefeated in the 18 international allround championships he participated in from the 2006/2007 season until the 2016/2017 season. From November 2007 to March 2009, he was ranked first in the Adelskalender, but despite his dominance as an all-round skater he has since been overtaken on that list by Shani Davis and, more recently, by his teammate Patrick Roest and Jordan Stolz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Håvard Bøkko</span> Norwegian speed skater

Håvard Bøkko is a Norwegian former speed skater, and the premier skater from his country since 2008, with 32 national championships and thirteen international medals. He had junior results similar to those of Sven Kramer, Gianni Romme and Eric Heiden from the early 1980s before the clap skate. He is the older brother of Hege Bøkko.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eskil Ervik</span> Norwegian speed skater

Eskil Ervik is a Norwegian speedskater. Ervik's best distance is traditionally the 5000-m, where he for several years was among the very best of the world, but his top priority for the most part of his career was to perform optimally in the allround championships. His retirement from top international speedskating was announced in April 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ids Postma</span> Dutch speed skater

Ids Hylke Postma is a Dutch former speed skater. He is an Olympic gold medalist and former world champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enrico Fabris</span> Italian speed skater

Enrico Fabris is an Italian former long track speed skater who has won three World Cup races and became the first European Allround Champion from Italy when he won the 2006 European Championships one month before the Winter Olympics in Turin. In 2007 he won also the silver medal and in 2008 the bronze medal. Fabris is also a six-time Italian Allround Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Egil Storholt</span> Norwegian speed skater

Jan Egil Storholt is a former speed skater from Norway. He was born in Løkken Verk which at the time was part of the Meldal municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatyana Averina</span> Soviet Speed skater

Tatyana Borisovna Averina was a Soviet Russian speed skater. After getting married, her name also appeared as Tatyana Barabash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oleg Bozhev</span> Soviet speed skater

Oleg Felevich Bozhev is a former speed skater. He trained at VSS Trud.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martina Sáblíková</span> Czech speed skater and cyclist

Martina Sáblíková is a Czech speed skater, specializing in long track speed skating. She is an Olympic gold medal winner and a multiple European and World allround champion. She became the first Czech to win two Olympic gold medals at one Winter Games in 2010. Sáblíková also competes in inline speed skating and road cycling races as a part of her summer preparation for the skating season. In cycling, she focuses on individual time trial discipline in which Sáblíková holds multiple Czech Republic National Championships titles and belongs to the world's top 15 female time-trialists. Sáblíková is the elder sister of fellow speedskater Milan Sáblík.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted-Jan Bloemen</span> Dutch-Canadian speed skater

Ted-Jan Bloemen is a Dutch-Canadian long track speed skater. He started competing for the Canadian national speed skating team during the 2014–15 season, but before that, he competed for the Netherlands in international competitions. Bloemen primarily competes in long-distance events as well as team pursuit events. He is a former world record holder for the 5,000 m (6:01.86), set in Salt Lake City, and was the Olympic record holder for the 10,000 m (12:39.77), set when he won gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Bloemen also won a silver medal in the 5,000 m at the Pyeongchang Olympics, the first Canadian man to medal in the distance since 1932. He has won a silver in 10,000 m and one bronze and silver in the team pursuit at the World Speed Skating Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trevor Marsicano</span> American speed skater

Trevor Marsicano is an American speed skater and silver medalist in the Winter Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Blokhuijsen</span> Dutch speed skater

Jan Blokhuijsen is an Olympic award-winning Dutch long-track speed skater who until 2013 skated for the commercial TVM team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Kuck</span> American speed skater

Jonathan Kuck is an American speed skater and silver medalist in the Winter Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denis Yuskov</span> Russian speed skater

Denis Igoryevich Yuskov is a former Russian speed skater. He is a three-time gold medalist in men's 1500 meters at the World Single Distance Championships and the World Cup-2016 holder at the distance 1500 m.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Garcia</span> American speed skater

Jonathan Garcia is an American speed skater. Garcia began his skating career as inline speed skater, winning his first national title in 2004. He represented the United States three times in the World Championships, winning a bronze medal in 2006. In 2007, he represented the United States at the Pan American Games before transitioning to short track speed skating on the ice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nils van der Poel</span> Swedish speed skater

Nils Göran van der Poel is a retired Swedish speed skater who is the current World and Olympic record holder and 2022 Olympic champion in the 5,000 m event and the 10,000 m event.

Jordan Stolz is an American professional speed skater. At the 2023 World Speed Skating Championships, Stolz won the 500m to become the youngest single distance world champion in history. He also became the first male skater to win three individual gold medals at a single World Speed Skating Championship, a feat he repeated in 2024.

References

  1. 1 2 "Chad Hedrick". SpeedSkatingStats.com. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  2. "ScienceDaily". Archived from the original on 2006-04-19. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
  3. "Chad Hedrick's Personal Bests". speedskatingbase.eu. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  4. "Chad Hedrick". SpeedskatingResults.com. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  5. "Chad Hedrick got married".
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Oscar Mathisen Award
2004
Succeeded by