Wikipedia

Greg Bretz

Gregory Bretz (born December 19, 1990 in Anaheim, California)[2][1] is an American professional snowboarder and two-time Olympian (2010 and 2014).[3][4][5] He also won the FIS Snowboard World Cup for halfpipe in 2008 and finished first in the Dew Tour over Shaun White in 2013.[5][6]

Greg Bretz
Personal information
National teamUnited States
Born (1990-12-19) December 19, 1990 (age 34)
Anaheim, California, US
Home townMammoth Lakes, California, US
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm) (2018)[1]
Weight180 lb (82 kg) (2018)[1]
SpouseMeredith Bretz
Children2
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportSnowboarding
EventHalfpipe
Achievements and titles
World finals1
Medal record
Men's Snowboarding
Representing the  United States
Winter X Games
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Aspen Super-pipe
FIS Snowboard World Cup
Gold medal – first place FIS Snowboard World Cup 2008 Halfpipe
U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix
Gold medal – first place U.S. Snowboarding Grant Prix 2013 Halfpipe
Gold medal – first place U.S. Snowboarding Grant Prix 2016 Halfpipe
Bronze medal – third place U.S. Snowboarding Grant Prix 2018 Halfpipe
Dew Tour
Gold medal – first place Dew Cup 2013 Halfpipe
Silver medal – second place Dew Cup 2011 Halfpipe

Early life

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Bretz was born in Anaheim on December 19, 1990[2][1] to Greg Sr. and Allison Bretz, who divorced a few years later. His father sold his machine shop in Orange County around this time, spent two months hiking in the southern Sierra Nevada with his 5-year-old son, then moved to Mammoth Lakes to take a job working at Mammoth Mountain. Bretz first snowboarded on June Mountain at age 5. Though he lived mainly with his mother in nearby Bishop, he saw his father often and the two developed a close-knit relationship.[6][4] He played tight end, earning All-CIF honors, and graduated from Mammoth High School in 2009.[7][6][4][8][9]

Career

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Bretz began entering halfpipe competitions at age 11.[2] In 2008, he became the youngest rider on the US Snowboarding men's halfpipe team at the FIS Snowboard World Cup[5] and finished first in Stoneham, Quebec and second overall behind after Iouri Podladtchikov.[2][10][11][5] In January 2010, Bretz finished fourth in the Winter X Games XIV men's super-pipe competition.[4][12] Within days of this competition, it was announced that he had made the US team alongside Shaun White, Louie Vito, and Scotty Lago for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.[4][13][6][2] He finished 12th.[6][2]

In February 2011, Bretz finished second in the Dew Tour's Snowbasin super-pipe competition after Luke Mitrani.[14] He finished fifth in the men's super-pipe at the 2013 Winter X Games in Aspen.[2] That December, he beat Shaun White for the Dew Cup with a score of 91.40 to 90.40, the first snowboarder in nearly four years to dethrone him.[6][1][15][16] He finished first at the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix halfpipe, qualifying him for the Sochi Olympics.[6][5] Prior to leaving for Russia, he won bronze at the Winter X Games.[1] He placed 12th in the men's half pipe final at the Olympics.[6][1][9]

In early 2016, he qualified at #1 for the finals of the US Snowboarding Grand Prix at Park City.[17] He qualified at #1 again the following year at Breckenridge, but the competition was cancelled due to bad weather.[8] At the 2018 competition, he placed third at Mammoth Mountain behind Chase Josey and Ben Ferguson with a score of 81.50. He competed but did not qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics.[1]

Personal life

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In 2010, Bretz was dating fellow Olympic snowboarder Elena Hight.[7][4] As of 2019, he and his wife Meredith were living in Crested Butte, Colorado with their two children.[18]

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Greg Bretz". Orange County Register. February 4, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Profile: Greg Bretz". Orange County Register. February 4, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  3. ^ "Greg Bretz". US Snowboarding. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Mammoth's Bretz makes Olympic team". Sierra Wave Media. January 26, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e Giuffra, Brian A. (January 12, 2009). "Bretz stoked for another big winter". ESPN. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Branch, John (February 7, 2014). "Father and Son, Together on a Halfpipe Quest". New York Times. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  7. ^ a b Reid, Scott (February 13, 2010). "Valentines on the Olympic halfpipe". Orange County Register. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  8. ^ a b Hoppes, Nate (February 20, 2017). "This Dude is About to Explode: Greg Bretz". Red Bull. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  9. ^ a b Kremar, Stephen (February 3, 2014). "Small town, big Olympians; Mammoth Lakes home base for six Sochi athletes". Grind TV. Archived from the original on January 20, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  10. ^ "09.03.2008 - Men's Halfpipe Official Results". FIS. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  11. ^ "Greg Bretz - World Cup Podiums Individual". FIS. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  12. ^ "Winter X Games results/schedules". The Denver Post. January 29, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  13. ^ "Olympic Snowboarding Team Named". US Snowboarding. January 25, 2010. Archived from the original on January 28, 2010.
  14. ^ "Dew Tour Snowbasin Superpipe 2011". Snowboarder.com. February 13, 2011. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  15. ^ "Greg Bretz wins snowboard superpipe finals, Shaun White takes second at the Dew Tour iON Mountain Championships". Snowboarder.com. December 16, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  16. ^ "Snowboarder Bretz gets first Dew Tour Win". WTHR. December 14, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  17. ^ "Kim and Bretz Lead Halfpipe Qualification". US Ski and Snowboard. February 4, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  18. ^ "Birth". Gunnison Country Times. October 24, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2025.


 

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