Kreitzburg Seeking a Huge Bobsled Comeback
November 15, 2009
Brock Kreitzburg was once in minicamp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He pushed a bobsled in 2006 Turin Olympics...
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Three U.S. Sleds in Four-Man Bobsled Top Ten Results
November 14, 2009
The four-man bobsled World Cup season kicked off at the Utah Olympic Park in Park City, Utah today...
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Brock Kreitzburg
2006 U.S. Olympic Bobsled Team
World Cup Gold Medals
- Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy - 2-man
- Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy - 4-man
- Igls, Austria - 4-man
- Calgary, Canada - 4-man
- Cesena, Italy - 4-man
- Park City, Utah - 4-man
World Cup Silver Medals
- Calgary, Canada - 2-man
- Park City, Utah - 2-man
- Lake Placid, New York - 2-man
- Lake Placid, New York - 4-man
- Konigssee, Germany - 4-man
- Winterberg, Germany - 4-man
- Konigssee, Germany - 4-man
Did You Know That Brock...
- Was a 2006 Olympian in Torino, Italy
- Won the overall World Cup Title with driver Steve Holcomb in the 2-man event
- Was World Cup runner-up in the 4-man event
- Earned medals in two of his first three races, in his first year of competing on the World Cup tour
- Ran 26 mph for 6 seconds on a high speed treadmill
- Participated in a mini-camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the spring of 1999
- Was named to All-MAC conference team as a receiver in football and as a decathlete in track
- Has his B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Toledo
- Has his Masters of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
- Was a chaplain at a retirement community in Charlotte, NC
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Growing up in the suburbs of Akron, Ohio, my dream was to become a professional athlete. I wanted to play in the NFL; become the next Jerry Rice. I felt as if I was destined for it, but even at a young age, I realized it would be a long, hard road. As I grew older, people were always cautioning me about the odds of becoming a professional athlete. "There’s a .01% chance that you will receive a football scholarship," and "there’s a .01% of .01% chance that you will make it to the NFL". Even then, I guess I loved a good challenge!
A 2009 Walsh Jesuit High School Hall of Fame inductee, I excelled in both football and track and field. After receiving a full scholarship to play football at the University of Toledo, I was a four year starter and named to the All-MAC conference team as a wide receiver. I was also named to the All-MAC conference team in track as a decathlete and pentathlete.
After graduating with a B.S. degree in Elementary Education in 1999, I was invited to participate in a Tampa Bay Buccaneer mini-camp. Unfortunately, I wasn’t signed and my dream of playing in the NFL was not realized. Having lost my father to cancer when I was 13, I had learned to draw my strength from God and place my faith in Him. At that point, I decided to pursue the passion I felt for my growing relationship with the Lord, and I enrolled in Gordon-Conwell Seminary.
While in seminary, I resumed my athletic training at a facility that featured a high speed treadmill system. It was there I discovered that the U.S. bobsled team was looking for push athletes. I didn’t know the first thing about bobsledding, but out of curiosity, I replied to their letter. Subsequently, I was invited out to the Olympic Training Center in San Diego to begin a four month recruiting process. In the end, I was one of three athletes chosen for the team, yet I felt compelled to honor my commitment to finish seminary. After receiving my Masters of Divinity in 2003, I was ready to pursue bobsledding.
I sold everything in my apartment that didn’t fit in my car and moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada with less than a $1000 in my pocket. Without a work visa, I wasn’t able to get a job. God always provided for me though and I never missed a meal or my rent. Within a few months, I earned a spot on the national team as the brakeman for USA-2, medaling in two of my first three races!
In 2006, I was promoted to Team Hays, USA-1. We were ranked second in the world going into the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy. Walking out of the tunnel during the Opening Ceremonies as they announced "the United States of America" was one of the proudest moments of my life. Despite our team’s 7th place finish, it was a privilege and honor being one of 211 athletes chosen to represent our country.
While we left the Olympic Games wishing we had accomplished more, the experience provided us with the incentive to work that much harder. In 2007, behind driver Steve Holcomb, we had the best season in U.S. bobsledding history. We claimed five gold medals and five silver medals in the World Cup tour. Steve and I were ranked #1 in the world in the 2-man event and #2 in the 4-man event.
AN UNEXPECTED TURN OF EVENTS
 We had just come off the best season in U.S. bobsled history in 2007, when a nagging injury in my hip turned into one of the most painful and challenging experiences I’ve ever had to overcome. For the next year and a half, there were countless visits to doctors and therapists, but no one had an answer. In September, 2008 I was referred to see Dr. Marc Philippon, a world renowned hip surgeon at the Steadman-Hawkins Clinic, in Vail, Colorado. The diagnosis was much worse than I had imagined. I had an impingement in my left hip, my labrum was calcified and torn, and I had bone chips, and a bone spur as well. His recommendation was to have arthroscopic surgery to repair the damage as soon as possible. With the Olympic Games a year and a half away, I felt as if it was the best chance I had to remain a contender for one of the seven spots on the Olympic bobsledding team. Little did I know how much this decision would change the course of my athletic career and challenge me emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
The arthroscopic procedure went well and I chose to rehab at the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center for the next several months. Six weeks after the procedure, things suddenly went downhill. I began experiencing increased pain when I was walking, and a decreased range of motion in my hip. Fearing the worst, I returned to see Dr. Philippon and my greatest fear was realized. In just six short weeks, my hip was more than halfway out of its socket, nearly dislocating itself. He explained that if I didn’t have surgery immediately, I could be in a wheelchair within ten years. I was faced with two options: a metal ball and socket in my hip, or a periacetabular osteotomy, where they would cut my pelvis in five places, rotate it, and then screw it back in to prevent it from dislocating in the future. No other elite or professional athlete had ever undergone this surgery in the United States. Dr. Philippon quickly referred me to see Dr. Joel Matta, a world renowned hip and pelvis reconstructive surgeon. I was devastated, but with my Olympic dream in jeopardy, I went to Santa Monica to have the surgery done in November, 2008.
Despite the extreme pain, and the tough weeks that followed, the surgery was a remarkable success. I was running 10½ weeks later, lifting weights at 13 weeks, and officially cleared at 13½ weeks to begin training again. Ironically I was sitting in the same office, in the same chair where I was told my athletic career was over. Thanks to Dr. Philippon and Dr. Matta, the staff at the OTC, my coach Dan Pfaff, and the Lord, I am thrilled to report that my career is back on track and several months ahead of schedule.
On June 1st, I returned to Calgary, Alberta, Canada to resume a more rigorous training schedule. (There we have access to Canada Olympic Park’s "Ice House," the only indoor push-start training facility in North America.) My goal is to claim one of the seven spots on the U.S. Olympic team in February, 2010. If you would like to learn more, please visit my website at www.brockbobsled.com.
With the Opening Ceremonies in Vancouver only a few months away, I am more determined than ever to overcome the adversity I’ve faced and return to the Olympic stage where I proudly stood just a few years ago. This journey has not been easy, but I have been blessed with an incredible support network. I have an amazing family back home in Ohio: my mom, Lynn, my stepfather Gary, my sister Ashley, my brother Logan, and my grandmother, Marcella. I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for their unconditional love and support.
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