Brock Kreitzburg
Encyclopedia
Brock Kreitzburg (born February 16, 1976) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 bobsledder who has competed since 2001.

Career bBiography

A graduate from the University of Toledo and a native of Akron, Ohio, Brock has been in the US Bobsled program since 2001.

In 2003, Kreitzburg graduated from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary is an evangelical theological seminary whose main campus is based in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, with three other campuses in Boston, Charlotte, North Carolina and Jacksonville. The current president of Gordon-Conwell is Dennis Hollinger...

. He became a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 after his father had died from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 20 years earlier which caused "an emptiness" that he tried to fill "with so many different things in high school and even the beginning of college." It left Kreitzburg a void he "...was trying to fill...".

Perseverance and dedication to the sport is something that Brock has had to prove constantly and with his selection to the 2006 US Olympic Team he was able to dispel the disappointment of being dropped from his ride at the 2005 World Championship by his then partner Steve Holcomb of the USA 2 bobsled. While the USA 2 bobsled. While the USA 2 bobsled did not fare well without Brock, this moment in his life led him to vow for Torino that “I WILL NOT BE LEFT AT HOME” and his rededicated the World Cup 2005-06 season to be one of the world’s best. The 05-06 season saw Brock become one of the most constituent pushers on the World Cup scene.

With success at hand, USA 1 bobsled driver Todd Hays came knocking on Brock’s door and invited him to join his team and he then graduated from the #2 team to the #1 team for the lead up to and during the Torino Games.

At the 2006 Games, he appeared in the Cleveland Plain Dealer & Cleveland.com as an athlete correspondent and was a frequent on-air personality on NBC with multiple appearances on the Today Show and appeared on the Tonight Show in a bit with 3 teammates and Tom Green. As a member of the Home Depot program, Brock took part in a satellite media tour Torino back to the US. Brock was a member of the Home Depot Olympic Job Opportunity Program and worked with Home Depot since 2002 until they ended the program & their sponsorship of the US Olympic Team in March of 2009. Following the Games, Brock was an occasional host of local programming for the NBC affiliate in Cleveland.

The 2006-07 season, saw a changing of the guard with USA 1 and the sled was now driven by former USA 2 teammate Steve Holcomb. The season gave Brock as Steve’s pushman the greatest success collectively they had ever seen and the 2 of them won the World Cup 2-man championship. Additionally, the 4-man team that Brock was a member of finished 2nd overall. The 2 & 4 man teams collected eight medals during the season.

The 2007-08 campaign was not as smooth as the previous season and Brock focused much of his time towards being a member of the 4-man team and he was able to pick up another 2 Gold and 2 Silvers during the season.

During the 2007-08 off season, Brock participated in the NASCAR Nationwide Series as a member of Stanton Barrett’s pit crew. Brock will work with the pit crew again during their 2009 season in the spring.

Heading towards Vancouver, Brock is a solid contender for a slot on the USA 1 bobsled and a contender for a podium shot for the United States.

Brock has had to take the 2008-09 season off to have surgery that will allow him to be 100% for the 2009-10 season and is expected to have a full recovery. ” Brock” was able to resume his career after these surgeries and was named a member of the 2009-10 US National Bobsled Team and has competed in Park City so far. ” Brock” is in Europe on the FIBT World Cup circuit right now until mid January when the team returns for the Olympics.

The prudent move was to take care of it prior to the Olympic year to be in optimal shape for Vancouver and just as in 2005, his same motto applies again I WILL NOT BE LEFT AT HOME, but this time “we need to take better advantage of the situation in front of us and win an Olympic medal.

Kreitzburg did not qualify for the US team for the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...

 in wake of his two hip surgeries in the 17 months leading up to the 2010 Games.

World championship biography

Competed for the United States in Six World Championships

USA 1: 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08

USA 2: 2003-04, 2004-05

USA 3: 2002-03

Collegiate biography

Brock graduated from the University of Toledo
University of Toledo
The University of Toledo is a public university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. The Carnegie Foundation classified the university as "Doctoral/Research Extensive."-National recognition:...

. He competed in track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 in the decathlon
Decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...

 and football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 as a wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...

. Kreitzburg earned a Masters of Divinity degree from the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary is an evangelical theological seminary whose main campus is based in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, with three other campuses in Boston, Charlotte, North Carolina and Jacksonville. The current president of Gordon-Conwell is Dennis Hollinger...

 in 2002.

Accomplishments and notes

2008-09 Did not compete due to injury and will return to competition in the Summer of 2009

2007-08 Participated in the NASCAR Nationwide Series as a member of Stanton Barrett's pit crew

2006-07 Overall Two Man Team World Cup Champion (driver Steve Holcomb)

2006-07 Overall Four Man Team World Cup Runner-Up (driver Steve Holcomb)

2006 Finished Seventh Overall with USA 1 (driver Todd Hays) Four Man Team at the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...

 in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...



2006 Named to the US Olympic Team - USA 1 Bobsled

Jan 1, 2006 Appeared in the Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena, CA

2001 Became a member of the USA Bobsled Team

1999 Attended mini-camp for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

1998-99 All-Conference Wide Receiver at the University of Toledo

Media appearances

February 2009 Quoted nationally in USA Today, Wall Street Journal & the AP regarding Home Depot's elimination of the Olympic Job Opportunity Program that benefitted the rank and file US Olympic athletes ability to live, work and train for their sport in a meaningful way via Home Depot's US Olympic Committee sponsorship

Summer 2006 WKYC Cleveland Morning Show - Guest Host (multiple occasions)

February 20, 2006 NBC Tonight Show with Jay Leno (Skit with Tom Green)

February 13, 2006 Home Depot Satellite Media Tour - Televised throughout the United States

February 2006 Appeared on the Today Show as an Athlete Correspondent

February 2006 Athlete Correspondent for the Cleveland Plain Dealer & Cleveland.com

EDucation

1998 graduate of the University of Toledo, B.A. Elementary Education

2003 graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Masters, Divinity

Home Depot Biography

As a member of the US Olympic Team's Olympic Job Opportunity Program, Brock amongst hundreds of other OJOP athletes was able to work at a variety of Home Depot locations throughout the United States and then be able to earn an honest wage while being able to still do all of what was needed to train for the World Cups, World Championships and ultimately the Winter Olympics. Through this program that Home Depot had been committed to from 1992, the program netted over 100 Olympic Medals to the United States and hundreds more in World Cup and World Championships for both Summer and Winter sports.

Brock worked in the Paint Department.

Additionally, Brock took part in events where the Home Depot would ask OJOP participants to represent themselves and the company. This included the 2006 Tournament of Roses Parade on the Home Depot float.

This is an incomplete list, but these are some of the stores that Brock was able to work at while a member of the Home Depot program:

The Home Depot
The Home Depot
The Home Depot is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services.The Home Depot operates 2,248 big-box format stores across the United States , Canada , Mexico and China, with a 12-store chain...

 in Wadsworth, Ohio
Wadsworth, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 18,437 people, 7,276 households, and 5,144 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,940.5 people per square mile . There were 7,613 housing units at an average density of 801.3/sq mi...


The Home Depot
The Home Depot
The Home Depot is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services.The Home Depot operates 2,248 big-box format stores across the United States , Canada , Mexico and China, with a 12-store chain...

 in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...

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