Kendall Gretsch grew up in Downers Grove, Illinois, playing basketball, swimming, and rock climbing. She has spina bifida. When she got to Washington University in St. Louis to study biomedical engineering, she added triathlon to the list and turned out to be exceptional at it.

By 2016, she had won three consecutive para triathlon world championships. Then her classification was not selected for the Rio Paralympic Games, and she had to make a decision: keep training in a discipline that might not get her to the Games, or try something new.

She chose para Nordic skiing, a sport she had never trained in.

Eight years later, she is heading to her fifth Paralympic Games.

What She Has Built

Gretsch made her Paralympic debut at PyeongChang 2018 and delivered something rare: a history-making performance in her first attempt on the biggest stage in Para sport. She won gold in the para biathlon 6km sitting and gold in the para cross-country skiing 12km sitting, becoming the first American athlete to medal in biathlon at either the Olympic or Paralympic level. Not first para athlete. First American, period.

She was born with spina bifida, and that PyeongChang performance showed what was possible from the other side of that diagnosis in a way that no amount of advocacy could have.

At Tokyo 2020, she added a gold in the paratriathlon, making her one of only five Americans ever to win gold at both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. Two completely different sports, two different continents, the same result.

Beijing 2022 brought three more medals: gold in the para biathlon middle distance sitting, silver in the individual, and bronze in the sprint. Her record stands at seven Paralympic medals across four Games: four gold, two silver, and one bronze.

At Paris 2024, she earned silver in the paratriathlon. She keeps showing up. She keeps placing.

Her Form Going In

Gretsch arrives at these Games sharp. At the 2025 Para Biathlon World Championships in Pokljuka, she swept three golds: the 12.5km individual, the 7.5km sprint, and the sprint pursuit sitting. In the individual, she was the only athlete across all classes to fire 20 clean shots. Not the best in her class. The only perfect shooter in the whole field.

The 2025–26 World Cup season backed it up. In January 2026, she closed out the IBU Para Biathlon World Cup season in Jakuszyce, Poland, taking silver in the 7.5km sprint, behind teammate Oksana Masters. Two Americans on the same podium, with the Games weeks away.

What She Is Chasing

Gretsch enters Milano Cortina as the defending champion in para biathlon. She is also among the top contenders in para cross-country skiing.

Para biathlon begins Saturday, March 7, with the sprint, and runs through Friday, March 13. Para cross-country skiing runs from Tuesday, March 10, through Sunday, March 15.

She is not coming to add a medal to the collection. She's coming for a complete Games: "I think my biggest goal for Milano Cortina is just to have a Games that kind of fully reflects all of the work that I've put into this sport."

For Families in the Special Needs Community

For families navigating a spina bifida diagnosis, Gretsch's career is concrete evidence of what preparation, persistence, and the right support systems can build. She was not recruited into Para sport. She found it. She was cut from a sport she'd mastered and started over in one she'd never tried. She turned that into seven medals across five Paralympic cycles.

When para biathlon begins on March 7, watch the sitting category. Watch how the shooting stages work. And if you have a child with spina bifida who asks who they're watching, you'll have a story worth telling.

Follow her events and results at the Team USA Milano Cortina page.