Meet CHAD HEDRICK: a champion on wheels and – as of recently – on blades! Born 1977 in Houston, Texas, he started off as most toddlers do: by learning to walk. At age two – in the roller skating rink operated by his father – he discovered the many advantages of having wheels attached to one’s feet. Hence his early childhood took an astronomical number of turns on quads (with four wheels attached laterally) and led him to acquire the taste for technical perfection in controlling them. He played roller hockey and raced others around the oval. Particularly for the latter, Chad soon started to make regular use of the faster inline skates (with four or five wheels attached in a line).
The next stations: Chad turns professional at age 16 and becomes FIRS World Champion over 1,500 meters at 17. “It really set the tone for my inline career,” Hedrick says of his first title, the one which is to propel him towards a long and imposing rule over all but the shortest distances.
As of today, Hedrick’s ongoing career record lists an astonishing 50 (fifty – five-zero!) world titles, hundreds of wins in elite inline races around the globe, and an equally impressive number of gold medals at the Pan Am Games and at The World Games.
Taking a look at Hedrick’s performance at The 6th World Games in Akita, Japan, is appropriate and as revealing about his dominance of inline speed skating as any other list of accomplishments:
August 24, 2001, 300 m Time Trial: Hedrick wins bronze in 25,332”, gold goes to Duggento (ITA; 25,084”) silver to Dobbin (NZL; 25,185”).
August 24, 2001, 500 m Sprint: Hedrick wins gold in 42,30”, ahead of Rueda (COL; 42,53”), Duggento and Botero (COL), both in 42,63”.
August 25, 2001, 10,000 m Point Race: Hedrick wins the gold, ahead of Dobbin and Botero.
August 25, 2001, 15,000 m Elimination Race: Hedrick somehow fails to make the top 20.
August 26, 2001, 15,000 m Point/Elimination Race: Hedrick wins the gold, ahead of Rosero (COL) and Botero.
After five races in the Akita Skating Rink – after three wins, one third place and an also-ran – Hedrick summed up his exploits in a rather characteristic statement to the press. “I will leave Japan tomorrow to participate in the World Championships in France. I was worried about these Games because I suffered from jet lag all along. Right now I go to my hotel, prepare some western food and take a rest.”
Not even a week later, at the 2001 FIRS World Speed Skating Championships in Valence d’Agen, France, Hedrick added another seven titles to his record.
Asked how he keeps up his motivation to win as many races, year after year, Hedrick has to search his soul. “I don’t know how many events I skate per year. Motivation is the hardest thing to maintain in any sport. After what I’ve accomplished, it’s very difficult to go out and race against the same people. You dig down deep. But I hate to lose. I think that motivates me the whole time. Everyone wants me to lose.”
There comes a time in an athlete’s life, however, when new challenges are as important as the number of victories over one’s peers. Ever since day one of his career, Chad Hedrick had hoped that inline speed skating would eventually take the step up from World Games to bona fide Olympic sport. Competing in multi-sport games had always had a very special appeal for the Texan, and winning the gold in the Olympics was the one goal that seemed to elude him. No longer! After another successful inline season, he traded in his wheels for a set of blades in the fall of 2002. Applying his particular technique – the trademark ‘Hedrick DP’ (double push) – to racing skates over an icy track, he soon became a stand-out in that sport as well. In February 2004, at the World All-Around Ice Speed Skating Championships in Hamar, Norway, Chad Hedrick won the title by shattering the world record point total. He was fifth over the two shorter distances (500 and 1,500 meters) and second in the longer races (5,000 and 10,000 meters).
After his successful switch to racing on ice, and despite his focus on the 2006 Winter Olympics, Hedrick is not lost to competitive inline skating. “I do not plan on leaving the sport of inline skating. On the contrary, I wish to influence its growth. The sport has been good to me over the years and I would like to return the favor. Hopefully by the time the Olympics roll around everyone will know my background was inline skating first then ice.”
Will Chad be able to defend some of his titles at The World Games Duisburg 2005? Let us all hope he can fit yet another journey to Germany – arrival: August 16; departure: August: 21 – in with his quest for gold in Turin 2006. Jet lag shouldn’t be a problem this time!
