Over the next 8 weeks, we’ll look at some of your favorite Winter Olympic athletes ahead of the Sochi games. This week, Olympic silver medalist and halfpipe snowboarder, Gretchen Bleiler.
Many consider Bleiler to be a pioneer in women’s halfpipe, attempting tricks no woman before her had tried, She is a 4-time X-Games gold medalist and won more halfpipe competitions in 2003, 2005, 2006 than any other snowboarder. She took silver in the 2006 Olympic games in Turin.
In the summer of 2012, Bleiler suffered a serious injury, one that almost kept her out of the sport forever. During practice on a trampoline, Bleiler kneed herself in the face so hard that she broke her nose and ruptured an eye socket. Even worse, she suffered a concussion and as a result, experienced vertigo. Not the kind of injury you want when your life literally hangs in the “balance” on a halfpipe.
After a six month recovery, Bleiler got back on the snowboard and competed again. She is the anchor for the U.S. Snowboarding Team in Sochi with an outside shot at a medal. We wish her luck.