Suburban Paralympics Star Brings Home USA's First Gold Medal

A suburban woman won Team USA’s first gold medal of the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games on Saturday.

Kendall Gretsch, a Downers Grove-native, took home the gold in the 6 kilometer Women’s Sitting Biathlon. Gretsch finished the race with a calculation time of 21:52, finishing 22 seconds ahead of fellow American Oksana Masters.

Lidziya Hrafeyeva of Belarus won the bronze medal, finishing just a second and a half behind Masters in a tightly-contested finish.

Gretsch has been on the national radar for years, having been nominated for an ESPY as the best female athlete with a disability for the 2015 edition of the awards show.

She will compete in two more events in the Paralympics, including the 10 kilometer Women’s Sitting Biathlon and the 12.5 kilometer edition of the race. 

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