Steve Mesler
Olympic gold medalist Steve Mesler | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Steven Michael Mesler | |||||||||||||||||||||
National team | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
Born |
Buffalo, New York | August 28, 1978|||||||||||||||||||||
Residence | Calgary, AB Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Website | http://www.stevemesler.com | |||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Bobsleigh | |||||||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | Four-man | |||||||||||||||||||||
Coached by | Stuart McMillan, Brian Shimer | |||||||||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Olympic finals | 2002, 2006, 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Highest world ranking | World Champion, Olympic Champion | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Steven Michael Mesler (born August 28, 1978) is a former American bobsledder and 3-time Olympian, World Champion, and Olympic Gold Medalist. He is the co-founder, President and CEO of the international award winning[1] non-profit education organization, Classroom Champions. Mesler also currently serves on the Board of Directors for the United States Olympic Committee.[2]
Early Life and Sport Career
Mesler was born in Buffalo, New York, and is Jewish on his mother's side.[3][4] He attended City Honors School in Buffalo, graduating in 1996.
Mesler attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he competed as a decathlete for the Florida Gators track and field team from 1997 to 2000.[5] He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree, with honors, in exercise and sports science in 2000.[6]
Mesler won a gold medal as a pusher for driver Steve Holcomb's U.S. Olympic team in the four-man event at the 2010 Winter Olympics.[7] This was the first gold medal for the United States in 62 years.
Mesler's team finished seventh in the four-man event at Turin in 2006. He won two medals in the four-man event at the FIBT World Championships with a gold in 2009, a first in 50 years for the United States, and a bronze in 2004.
In March 2011, he was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame[8] and in October 2011 he was inducted into the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.[9]
Classroom Champions
In 2009, Steve and his sister, Dr. Leigh Mesler Parise, founded Classroom Champions and have grown it into an international organization affecting change in classrooms and donating needed technology utilizing Olympians and Paralympians as around the year mentors to thousands of students[10] in the U.S., Canada, and Costa Rica.[10]
For his work on Classroom Champions, Steve was named one of Sports Illustrated’s renowned “Athletes Who Care” and was a 2011 Nominee for the International Champion for Peace Award by Peace and Sport. A TED-Ed Educator and featured expert on Big Think, Steve has spoken around the world on the values of educating students through technology and mentorship. In 2013, Classroom Champions was the only non-European organization to receive a Fair Play Diploma from the International Fair Play Committee established by UNESCO. Recently, local agencies, the United States Olympic Committee, and the White House have all recognized Classroom Champions teachers for their work.[11]
Classroom Champions has been featured in publications such as: Forbes, Sports Illustrated, Sports Illustrated for Kids, ABC News, the Washington Post, The Sporting News, USA Today, and the Yahoo Sports.[12]
Corporate Consulting and Speaking Life
Steve’s teaching extends beyond the schools of the world and into corporate board rooms where he is a leadership development consultant as a Principal at Shift210 Consulting. He works with small businesses as well as multi-national corporations to increase employee development, retention, leadership abilities, team performance and community involvement engagement.[13]
Steve has keynoted executive conferences and national conventions from Vancouver to Orlando.[11] He has spoken on communicating the Olympic ideals in Olympia, Greece, talked about engagement in Tel Aviv, Israel, and sat as an expert on panels in Sochi, Russia and Dubai, UAE to discuss the future of organizations in creating peace through sport education in global communities. In March 2014 Steve spoke at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai with a talk titled "Systematic change means getting back to local."[14] Other speakers at the conference included Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, among others.[15]
Television Experience
Steve is a noted TV host and commentator. He has commentated on NBCUniversal for the 2009, 2011, and 2012 Bobsled World Championships as well as numerous World Cup races around the globe. Steve has co-hosted Calgary’s Breakfast Television morning show on multiple occasions and, notably, has appeared on American television shows the Late Show with David Letterman, the Today Show, and The Colbert Report.[11]
Other Philanthropic Work
Steve has consistently donated his time to organization of various charitable good. He is currently active or has been active with the following organizations to raise awareness, raise impact, and or raise funds nationally as well as in his hometown of Buffalo, NY and residence of Calgary, AB: Ronald McDonald House, Make a Wish Foundation, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Peace and Sport, Right To Play.
See also
- LinkedIn Profile
- Florida Gators
- Classroom Champions
- List of Olympic medalists in bobsleigh
- List of University of Florida alumni
- List of University of Florida Olympians
References
- ↑ http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/2013/11/11/classroom-champions-win-unesco-award
- ↑ http://www.teamusa.org/About-the-USOC/Inside-the-USOC/Leadership/Board-of-Directors
- ↑ "Jews in the News: Steve Mesler is golden". Jew or Not Jew Unplugged. February 27, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
- ↑ Bloom, Nate (February 2, 2010). "Interfaith Celebrities: Olympic Athletes and American Faces". InterfaithFamily.com.
- ↑ "Steve Mesler". Track & Field History, 2000 Roster. GatorZone.com. Retrieved May 3, 2011.
- ↑ "Steve Mesler: Turin 2006 Winter Olympics". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
- ↑ Bloom, Nate (February 12, 2010). "Jewish Stars". Cleveland Jewish News. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
- ↑ "Mesler inducted into Jewish shrine". The Buffalo News. February 27, 2011. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
- ↑ http://buffalosportshallfame.com/member/steve-mesler/
- 1 2 http://www.classroomchampions.org/
- 1 2 3 http://stevemesler.com/
- ↑ http://www.classroomchampions.org/news/120/Stories-About-Us
- ↑ http://stevemesler.com/#/about-steve/steves-story
- ↑ https://educationandskillsforum.org/gesf-2014-impactlab-steve-mesler/
- ↑ https://educationandskillsforum.org/speakers/
External links
- Steve Mesler at the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation
- Steve Mesler at the United States Olympic Committee
- Steve Mesler at Sports Reference
- US Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation announcement of the US Olympic men's bobsleigh team. January 17, 2010. Accessed January 18, 2010.
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