Gretchen Bleiler is a former American snowboarder, known for winning at the 2006 Olympics. She began snowboarding at the age of 11 and turned professional in 1996. Gretchen Bleiler has won 1 New Zealand Winter Games, 5 Winter X Games, and 2 Winter Dew Tours. She is first female snowboarder to perfect an Inverted Backside 540, also known as ‘The Crippler’. Gretchen Bleiler announced her retirement in January of 2014 after being injured during a training accident in 2012 which unfortunately did not allow her to make the 2014 Winter Olympics team. She is currently pursuing other interests like writing, teaching, entrepreneurship, and activism.