Godspeed, Jantz Grodzicki
Monday, November 26, 2012 | 1:35 PM
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PrintAfter several conflicting reports since Friday, we are very sad to report that 16-year-old Jantz Grodzicki of San Diego, CA, passed away this afternoon after a crash at the Winter Olympics in Gainesville, Florida.
The following message was posted by his mother:
"It is with the heaviest of hearts and deepest sorrow that we share with you the loss of our son Christopher "JANTZ" Grodzicki #96."
-Lisa Adams Grodzicki
You will be missed deeply 96.
Ride In Paradise Jantz!
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As I sit here mourning the loss of this young rider, let us not forget that this young man passed doing exactly what HE loved to do !! Let's not make an issue of how he came to pass !!! WE all know the inherrent dangers everytyme we throw a leg over the seat of a motorcycle. Let us mourn the loss Jantz and leave the " I told you so's" to the ones who don't understand !!! God Speed, Jantz
Rest in peace, little guy! My thoughts are with your family.
Another sad day for mx community
@scottsyz - I couldn't agree more.
I respectfully give my condolences to everyone who knew and loved him.
rest in paradise jantz
I've raced with jantz in real life, and on online mx tournaments on mxgmr.com. One of the most nicest and funniest kids I've ever met! R.I.P little bro.
Jantz had gotten a phone call from Trey Canard, who was his favorite rider. He got to talk to trey shortly before he passed. :'(
Class act on Trey's part for sure. Such sad news. Prayers to him and his family...Godspeed Jantz.
This family will definitely be in our prayers,i never met him or his family,sounds like a great kid,you will be missed by the entire M-X COMMUNITY,GODSPEED #96 we love ya BRO.......
Such a class act from Trey Canard. Godspeed Jantz. To the family of Jantz.....your loss is mourned by an entire community. Take heart in knowing your son passed doing what he loved, and celebrate his memory.
God works his miracles in ways we will not understand, until, we meet all our loved ones and celebrate eternity together. Only then will we be at peace.
Rest peacefully Jantz. To the grodzicki family, my family and I send our deepest condolences.
Off the that big MX track in the sky. Maybe he a Magoo are rubbin elbows right now)
Tragic. RIP Jantz.
http://espn.go.com/action/fmx/story/_/id/8669455/jantz-grodzicki-critical-condition-mini-o-crash
GODSPEED JG 96
Rest in Peace Jantz !
RIP JANTZ.
Didn't know him or anyone associated with him. Still feel shocked and sad for all.
Too sad and tragic, but Jantz passed doing what he truly loved and I guess if you're going to pass what better way to pass than doing what you truly love.
I think it's so incredibly awesome Trey "class act" Canard took the time to reach out to the family prior to Jantz passing. Just goes to show what type of person Trey really is as an indivual.
God bless Jantz and the Grodzicki family. It seems like the family has a high belief in the Lord, which will help them through this unbearable loss.
Praise and Congrats to the Dad, Mom and Sister for doing everything they did for Jantz over the years. They truly provided him grand life in the sport of motocross. Sounds like an oustanding family, as well as his uncle from Seattle too (read - Jantz's facebook page).
God Speed Jantz it's time to win one from the pearly gate. prayers to the family.
God bless the Grodzicki family.
Heartfelt prayers to the family. I as well as others can only imagine your loss. Everyday my son or others children ride and race, I say a prayer for all. Godspeed Jantz, although I never knew you, I did through the racing world. Go join the others that were taken away to young, may you ride in peace above us all.......
The only thing i can say is if you believe.... then you shouldn't grieve. This young man is most likly knocking out laps with Masterpool, Chandler, and Schmit and many others we have lost along the way as i type this. The weather is perfect.... the track is in prime shape.... and Jesus is at the wheel of the tractor.... grooming it after every moto. Everyday... for eternity. This actually makes me smile.
I knew Jantz he was a good kid i met on ps3 and rode at the race he rode at .I am sad but at least he passed doing something he love. The last time i saw him was at Milestone Mx park practing for Monster cup this year. He was my idol even though he was year older than me . I gonna miss him and i know alot of other people are gonna miss him. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family R.I.P Jantz ride hard up their i will keep u as a friend on playstation for ever Jantzmx96
Very sad and tragic.....I will say a prayer for him, his family, and friends. Jantz's father had stated he was wearing a Leatt brace and a chest protector, which I know many, including myself were surprised to hear that. We all know we should all wear as much protective gear as possible, I do, and this news will not change that for me. And I hope some racers' wont say "well he was wearing that and he still got injured, so what's the point"? We don't know the exact physics that contributed to his injuries, but I do hope that protective gear companies and the AMA get together sometime to start conducting "crash re-construction", to see if there could be any changes to prevent this, or possibly the severity of injuries in the future. For that matter, I've never seen an article on "how to crash".....during an endo, loop-out, etc....All in all, I hope we can find a positive from this terrible tragedy.....
Godspeed Jantz.......
Thoughts and prayers for friends and family at this hard time.
so so sad. Thinking of the family.
so sad for the family.i ride with my son and i dont think i could survive something like this myself,it would be tough to continue. however, i have long felt am. racing is way to serious,to young,too much at stake.we can tone down the obstacles,longer motos,(so they dont have to go balls out for 5 laps,and risk it all). kids should not be on 450 those bikes are to fast. we can learn from mistakes and we should look for answers.
Hes in heaven with jesus now.
yes, he was said to be wearing all the correct safety equipment, but sadly in the long run, it doesn't matter....it was an accident.....and it ended tragically. I watched one of my son's friends crash just in front of him at a race....and it ended tragically. But that is racing, and unfortunatly we have to accept it if our own children are racing too. RIP all the young people that have been taken from us, and all the ones that don't race but have also been taken one way or another...................
Best wishes to the Grodzicki Family.Like the first post, I totally agree. We should all be so lucky passing doing what we love to do. It is still such a shame.
Everyday we step out our doorstep, we never know if we shall return. The BIG GUY upstairs works in strange ways.
So Sorry to hear of this young mans passing,May He Rest In Peace...Amen!
My heartfelt condolences to his family and my prayers are with them...sorry to hear this news...
R.I.P.>>Ride In Paradise buddy!
Such a sad week for the mx community,Please also keep in your prayers an 18 yr old rider named Paul Hagenmaier.He passed away this weekend racing at Mesa MX Park.His handlebars jabbed his midsection and bled internally,such a sad week ...RIP Jantz and Paul!!!!!!!!
It is so hard to have this conversation over and over again with my teenage racer. Having grown up at the track he loves each and every guy on the track... even if he does not know them. He may want to beat them with every fiber in his body while racing but when the checkers fly he loves them no matter what the outcome of that particular moto. Each racer is his brother. Moto is a world of its own when it comes to families supporting other families. We watched a close friend die in front of us in 2011 and have lost too many others over the years. It hurts every time. We didn't know Jantz personally but because he and his family are a part of our extended moto family that strecthes out all over the world it hurts this time too and gives us reason for pause. None of us know the hour or the day, we just have to trust and believe that God has a plan that is greater than our understanding and lean on Him when none of it makes any sence at all. Time now is to pray for his Mother, Father and little sister. Each one so invested in Jantz' pursuit of becomeing a professional racer. Each one now left with an unfillable hole in thier hearts. If you pray... Pray for the Holy Spirits comforting presence to be close at hand for the rest of thier lives.
Well said @mykidsmechanic. My son and I talked have been talking about this over the last couple days and hoping for the best. Our prayers are with his family and their will to stay strong.
Godspeed JG96.
tbone mx47 you couldnt of said it better, a racer is a racer its in the blood if it wasnt for my wife saying enough is enough after crushing c4 and c5 and 5 back surgerys i would be racing it kills me my injurys i sustained over the years keep from racing, but this boy had his whole life ahead of him, are we as parents saying look you can be the next RC or James Stewart or Chad Reed our are we saying have some fun thats wahts its about at that age, my son rides and i said to a track worker these parents push there kids like there the next James Stewart and his exact words were dont you, i said no. i not saying jantzs parents were like that at all but raceing can be fun without all the big jumps.
Lisa,
Of course words cannot convey the loss......
I acknowledge you and your family for supporting your son in this great sport. You gave him the very best you could and he lived a rare life, to experience the joy of doing what he loved so much. To have been able to offer all that to him, I salute you and your family.
Your family is in my thoughts.
We are all so very sorry for your pain.
Godspeed Jantz