Gretchen Bleiler FHM

Gretchen Bleiler sits down with FHM for a quick interview and photo shoot.

When snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler was forced to sit out of the 2002 Olympics after narrowly missing the qualifiers, she vowed she would return–and return she did. This week, the sultry Bleiler captured the silver during her halfpipe Olympic run at Torino. That’s not surprising considering the siren of the slopes is one of the top female snowboarders in the halfpipe, having won eight consecutive competitions in 2003; snagging wins at the 2004 X Games, Gravity Games and U.S. Open; not to mention placing first-place in World Cup competition at Bardonecchia, Italy, in 2005.

To top things off, the 24-year-old Aspen native was one of the first women to complete a 900–a two-and-a-half-revolution jump–snowboarding’s equivalent of a grand slam. This is the same powder princess, while training for the 2002 games, gave herself a black eye by slamming into the pipe during a practice jump. Now, that’s our kinda girl!

And she provides some advice for aspiring snowboarders:

As an athlete, you’re in great shape. What do you consider your best feature?
“My butt’s probably the most prominent feature on my body. It’s shapely like J.Lo’s, which is probably the reason I do well in snowboarding. You need a strong lower body to hold the board under you.”Â

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Gretchen Bleiler FHM

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