View source for Chad Hedrick

{{short description|American speed skater}}
{{Infobox speed skater
| name           = Chad Hedrick
| image          = Chad Hedrick (23-02-2008).jpg
| caption        = Hedrick at a world cup speedskating event in Heerenveen, the Netherlands
| headercolor    = #B0C4DE
| birth_date     = {{birth date and age|1977|4|17|mf=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Spring, Texas]], U.S.
| height         = {{convert|1.78|m|ftin|abbr=on|order=flip}}
| weight         = {{convert|78.02|kg|lb|abbr=on|order=flip}}
| website        = {{URL|https://web.archive.org/web/20150813035254/http://www.chadhedrick.com/|ChadHedrick.com (archive)}}
| worldcup       = 1500&nbsp;m – Netherlands<br />5000&nbsp;m – Italy<br />1500&nbsp;m – USA<br />5000&nbsp;m – Canada
| worldchamp     = 2004 overall
| country        = {{USA}}
| sport          = {{nowrap|[[Long track speed skating]]<br/>[[Inline speed skating]]}}
| pb             = 500&nbsp;m: 35.52 (2009)<br />1000&nbsp;m: 1:07.33&nbsp;(2009)<br />1500&nbsp;m: 1:42.14&nbsp;(2009)<br />3000&nbsp;m: 3:39.02&nbsp;(2005)<br />5000&nbsp;m: 6:09.68&nbsp;(2005)<br />10 000&nbsp;m: 12:55.11&nbsp;(2005)
| medaltemplates =
{{Medal|Sport|Men's [[speed skating]]}}
{{Medal|Country|the {{USA}}}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[Speed skating at the Winter Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[2006 Winter Olympics|2006 Turin]]|[[Speed skating at the 2006 Winter Olympics – Men's 5000 metres|5000 m]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[2006 Winter Olympics|2006 Turin]]|[[Speed skating at the 2006 Winter Olympics – Men's 10000 metres|10000 m]]}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[2010 Winter Olympics|2010 Vancouver]]|[[Speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's team pursuit|Team pursuit]]}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[2006 Winter Olympics|2006 Turin]]|[[Speed skating at the 2006 Winter Olympics – Men's 1500 metres|1500 m]]}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[2010 Winter Olympics|2010 Vancouver]]|[[Speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's 1000 metres|1000 m]]}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[World Speed Skating Championships|World Championships]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[2004 World Allround Speed Skating Championships|2004 Hamar]]|Allround}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[2004 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships|2004 Seoul]]|5000 m}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[2005 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships|2005 Inzell]]|5000 m}}
{{Medal|Silver|[[2005 World Allround Speed Skating Championships|2005 Moscow]]|Allround}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[2004 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships|2004 Seoul]]|10000 m}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[2005 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships|2005 Inzell]]|10000 m}}
{{Medal|Competition|[[World Games]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[2001 World Games|2001 Akito]]|[[Inline speed skating at the 2001 World Games – Men's 500 m sprint|500 m sprint]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[2001 World Games|2001 Akito]]|[[Inline speed skating at the 2001 World Games – Men's 10,000 m points race|10000 m points]]}}
{{Medal|Gold|[[2001 World Games|2001 Akito]]|[[Inline speed skating at the 2001 World Games – Men's 15,000 m points elimination race|15,000 m points elimination]]}}
{{Medal|Bronze|[[2001 World Games|2001 Akito]]|[[Inline speed skating at the 2001 World Games – Men's 300 m time trial|300 m time trial]]}}
}}

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

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&nbsp;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 record]]s in speed skating, but these have later been broken by others.<ref name=stats>{{cite web|title=Chad Hedrick|url=http://www.speedskatingstats.com/index.php?file=skater&code=1977041701|publisher=SpeedSkatingStats.com|access-date=August 24, 2012}}</ref> {{As of|2021}}, he was 4th in the unofficial world ranking, the [[Adelskalender (skating)|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&nbsp;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&nbsp;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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed%3DSports%26article%3DUPI-1-20060209-16053800-bc-oly-davis.xml |title=ScienceDaily |access-date=2007-09-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060419024424/https://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Sports&article=UPI-1-20060209-16053800-bc-oly-davis.xml |archive-date=2006-04-19 }}</ref> 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|date=February 2018}}  Davis eventually won the gold medal in the 1000 m race, while Hedrick finished sixth.

Hedrick added a silver medal in the 10,000&nbsp;m to his Olympic tally along with a bronze medal in the 1,500&nbsp;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, [[Netherlands|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==
{{PersonalRecordsTop}}
{{PersonalRecordsSport| Men's [[speed skating]]}}
{{PersonalRecordsMiddle| 500 m | 35.52  | 2009-12-26 | [[Utah Olympic Oval|Salt Lake City]] | }}
{{PersonalRecordsMiddle| 1000 m | 1:07.33  | 2009-12-13 | [[Utah Olympic Oval|Salt Lake City]] | }}
{{PersonalRecordsMiddle| 1500 m | 1:42.14 | 2009-12-04 | [[Olympic Oval|Calgary]] | }}
{{PersonalRecordsMiddle| 3000 m | 3:39.02| 2005-03-10 | [[Olympic Oval|Calgary]] | }}
{{PersonalRecordsMiddle| 5000 m | 6:09.68 | 2005-11-13 | [[Olympic Oval|Calgary]] | American record}}
{{PersonalRecordsMiddle| 10000 m | 12:55.11 | 2005-12-31 | [[Utah Olympic Oval|Salt Lake City]] | American record }}
{{PersonalRecordsMiddle| Big combination | 148.799 | 2006-01-22 | [[Olympic Oval|Calgary]] | }}
{{PersonalRecordsBottom}}
<small>Source: speedskatingbase.eu<ref>{{cite web|title=Chad Hedrick's Personal Bests|url=http://www.speedskatingbase.eu/index.php?section=main&subsection=skater&id=8049|publisher=speedskatingbase.eu|access-date=August 24, 2012|archive-date=October 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181029181321/http://www.speedskatingbase.eu/index.php?section=main&subsection=skater&id=8049|url-status=dead}}</ref> & SpeedskatingResults.com<ref name=Results>{{cite web|title=Chad Hedrick|url=http://speedskatingresults.com/index.php?p=17&s=550|publisher=SpeedskatingResults.com|access-date=August 29, 2012}}</ref></small>

== World ice speedskating records ==

Hedrick has so far skated six world records on ice skates

{| class='wikitable'
|-
!Event!!Time!!Date!!Venue
|-
|[[Samalog|Big combination]]||150.478||February 8, 2004||align=left|{{flagicon|NOR}} [[Vikingskipet|Hamar]]
|-
|[[World record progression 3,000 m speed skating men|3000 m]]||3.39,02||March 10, 2005||align=left|{{flagicon|CAN}} [[Olympic Oval|Calgary]]
|-
|[[World record progression 5,000 m speed skating men|5000 m]]||6.09,68||November 13, 2005||align=left|{{flagicon|CAN}} Calgary
|-
|[[World record progression 1,500 m speed skating men|1500 m]]||1.42,78||November 18, 2005||align=left|{{flagicon|USA}} [[Utah Olympic Oval|Salt Lake City]]
|-
|[[World record progression 10,000 m speed skating men|10,000 m]]||12.55,11||December 31, 2005||align=left|{{flagicon|USA}} Salt Lake City
|-
|Big combination||148.799||January 22, 2006||align=left|{{flagicon|CAN}} Calgary
|}

<small>Source: SpeedSkatingStats.com<ref name=stats/></small>

== World Titles Inline Speed Skating ==
Hedrick has won the following world titles in [[inline speed skating]]:
{| class="wikitable"
!Year!!Number!!Track!!Road
|-
|1994 || 1 || 1500 m<br /> ||
|-
|1995 || 6 || 10.000 m<br />1500 m<br />10.000 m || 20.000 m<br />10.000 m<br />Marathon
|-
|1996 || 7 || 10.000 m<br /> 5000 m<br />20.000 m<br />10.000 m Relay || 1500m <br />10.000<br />20.000 m
|-
|1997 || 7 || 10.000 m<br />1500 m<br />20.000 m<br />10.000 m Relay<br /> || 20.000 m<br />10.000 m<br />1500 m
|-
|1998 || 7 || 1500 m<br />10000 m<br />15000 m<br />20000 m<br />10.000 m Relay<br /> || 1500 m<br />15000 m
|-
|1999 || 9 || 1000 m<br />10000 m<br />15000 m<br />20000 m<br />10.000 m Relay<br /> || 1000 m<br />10.000 m<br />20.000 m
|-
|2000 || 5 || 10.000 m<br />20.000 m<br />10.000 m Relay<br /> || 10.000 m<br />15.000 m
|-
|2001 || 7 || 1000 m<br />10.000 m<br />15000 m<br />10000 m Relay<br /> || 20000 m<br />15.000 m<br />10000 m
|-
|2002 || 2 || 1000 m<br />20.000 m<br /> ||
|-
|Total || 50 || ||
|}

== 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)
* Course Record - NorthShore Inline Marathon (1998)

== 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.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://blading.at.webry.info/200806/article_8.html |title = Chad Hedrick got married}}</ref>  Hedrick currently works as a licensed realtor.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150813035254/http://www.chadhedrick.com/ Official website (archive)]
* [https://archive.today/20041211203532/http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_27024.htm Chad Hedrick's U.S. Olympic Team bio (archive)]
* [http://www.speedskatingstats.com/index.php?file=skater&code=1977041701 Chad Hedrick at SpeedSkatingStats.com]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071004201114/http://www.fotos.desg.de/athletes.php?showAthletes=all&id=302 Photos of Chad Hedrick]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060315181246/http://www.offthepodium.com/athletes/chad_hedrick.php OffThePodium.com]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070225171128/http://web.telia.com/~u46130641/adelm.htm Current Adelskalender]
* [http://www.speedskatingbase.eu/index.php?section=main&subsection=skater&id=8049 SpeedskatingBase.eu PB's Chad with a link to Results International Championships] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181029181321/http://www.speedskatingbase.eu/index.php?section=main&subsection=skater&id=8049 |date=2018-10-29 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091228101823/http://wintergames.ap.org/chad-hedrick?key=b6b05b99-35d7-4c04-a1e4-efbbd78fe784 AP Winter Games Profile: Chad Hedrick]
* [http://wintergames.ap.org/story.aspx?st=id&id=p62a89f39a95042c4a92e6b4b4fe36a39 Associated Press: Davis, Hedrick carving quite an Olympic legacy]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{Olympics.com profile}}
* {{Olympedia}}
* {{World Games profile}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-ach}}
{{succession box|title=[[Oscar Mathisen Award]]|before={{flagicon|GER}} [[Anni Friesinger-Postma|Anni Friesinger]]|after={{flagicon|USA}} [[Shani Davis]]|years=2004}}
{{S-end}}
{{adelskalender_leaders}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions 5000m Speed Skating Men}}
{{Footer World Single Distance Champions 5000m Speed Skating Men}}
{{Footer World Allround Champions Speed Skating Men}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedrick, Chad}}
[[Category:1977 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American roller skaters]]
[[Category:American male speed skaters]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Houston]]
[[Category:Speed skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Speed skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in speed skating]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States in speed skating]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in speed skating]]
[[Category:World record setters in speed skating]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Spring, Texas]]
[[Category:World Allround Speed Skating Championships medalists]]
[[Category:World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships medalists]]
[[Category:World Games gold medalists for the United States]]
[[Category:World Games medalists in roller sports]]
[[Category:World Games bronze medalists for the United States]]
[[Category:Competitors at the 1995 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Competitors at the 1999 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in roller sports]]
[[Category:Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in roller sports]]
[[Category:Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in roller sports]]
[[Category:Inline speed skaters]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2001 World Games]]
[[Category:21st-century American sportsmen]]