Chad Hedrick
 
Olympic Gold, Silver & Bronze Medalist
6-Time World Record Holder
 Allround World Champion
World Rank - #1
50-Time World Championship Gold Medalist (Inline)
World Cup Champion
World Cup Medalist
National Champion

'The Exception'

To describe Chad Hedrick as the greatest speedskater of all time may come under some debate, but not much.  Hedrick's exceptional abilities, both on and off the ice, have earned him the appropriate nickname - 'The Exception'.  He has amassed more skating medals through ice and inline competitions around the world than any man in history...and he's still going.

Born and raised in Spring, Texas, Hedrick was in skates by two years old at the local roller skating rink his parents still own. By the time he was eight, he was National Champion. At sixteen, he was World Champion.

Chad revolutionized the inline speed skating world with his own personal unique skating technique, originally dubbed simply 'The Chad' it is now universally referred to as the double push or DP.  It has become the standard skating technique for élite skaters around the world.  If you aren't using the double push, you aren't winning.

During his inline skating career Hedrick won 93 national championships and 50 world championships, as well as having a brand of inline skating wheels named after him. It was shortly after having won his 50th World Championship, in Oostende, Belgium, in 2002, from a hotel casino in Las Vegas, that he watched fellow inline skater (and Q Sports client) Derek Parra win a gold medal on the ice at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. Hedrick was inspired to do the same...and more.

In February 2004, after only one year training on the ice, Hedrick won the 2004 World Allround Speedskating Championships, knocking more than a point off the world record.  He went on to win the gold medal in the 5,000 meters during the 2004 World Single Distance Championships. In 2005 he successfully defended his 5,000m world title.  He has gone on to set six world records, is the current leader of the world ranking system Adelskalender, and was the first man in history to ever skate 10,000 meters in under 13 minutes. 

2006 Winter Olympic Games

The Texan raised the stakes at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, striking gold in the 5000 meter event.  He added a silver medal in the grueling 10,000 meter race and settled for bronze in the 1500 meter distance.  Chad is only the third American in history to ever win three medals in a single Winter Olympics.

Today

Chad is currently living and training in Salt Lake City, UT under the watchful eyes of fellow Olympic gold medalists Bart Veldkamp and Derek Parra.

Athletic Accomplishments

Hedrick is a 6-Time World Record holder:

• allround samalog, 150.478 (Hamar, Norway, 8 February 2004)
• 3000 m, 3.39,02 (Calgary, Canada, 10 March 2005)
• 5000 m, 6.09,68 (Calgary, Canada, 13 November 2005)
• 1500 m, 1.42,78 (Salt Lake City, USA, 18 November 2005)
• 10000 m, 12.55,11 (Salt Lake City, USA, 31 December 2005)
• allround samalog, 148.799 (Calgary, Canada, 22 January 2006)

Records in roller/inline speed skating

• 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)

Did You Know?

• Won the 2004 World All-Around Championships in Hamar, Norway, becoming just the third American to accomplish this feat in 100 years
• 2004 Oscar Mathisen Memorial Trophy winner, previously won by Bonnie Blair and Eric Heiden
• In the year before the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, set world records in three Olympic distances (1,500m, 5000m, 10,000m); and in a fourth, non-Olympic event, 3,000m
• "Chad Hedrick is Texan from head to toe, which means he's a good son, a faithful friend, a hard worker, a loyal teammate, patriotic, handsome, well-spoken, polite and friendly," according to the Houston Chronicle's David Barron.
• "It also means that if you rub him the wrong way, he's got a stubborn streak from here to Dalhart." -- Houston Chronicle
• Named U.S. Speedskating’s 2003-04 Athlete of the Year
• Speedskating legend Eric Heiden on Hedrick: "He has genetics, but he also has the psychological elements to be a champion. He's a tough guy."

Personal Info:

• Date of Birth: April 17, 1977
• Height/Weight: 5'11", 172 lbs. / 1.80M, 78 KG
• Born: Spring, Texas
• Hometown: Spring, Texas
• Currently resides: Salt Lake City, UT

Email Chad at:
chad@chadhedrick.com

 

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Chad Hedrick's agent is Patrick Quinn of Q Sports Marketing. contact 630-903-0000.  Chad Hedrick is an Olympic gold, silver, and bronze medalist. Chad Hedrick 2006 Olympian.  For more information about Chad Hedrick visit www.qsports.net.