Athlete Bios
Figure Skating
U.S. high school student Flatt a top contender
Last Updated: Friday, February 5, 2010 | 5:08 PM ET
New York Times for CBC Sports
American figure skater Rachael Flatt is already a top Olympic contender at just 17-years-old. (Frederic J. Brown/Getty Images)Rachael Flatt, a 17-year-old figure skater with round, ruddy cheeks and uncontainable perkiness, may not be flashy, but she is consistent. Her ability to put forth a strong performance without any glaring errors has made her the top contender to make the United States Olympic team for the 2010 Vancouver Games.
Flatt is a senior at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, Colo., who juggles skating and schoolwork. Her days during the 2009 fall semester began with Advanced Placement English at 6:45 a.m., followed by a full school day, including A.P. French, A.P. physics and A.P. calculus. Though her education has been her top priority, her skating has never suffered. She has the résumé to prove it.
In 2005, when she was 12, she became the novice ladies national champion. In 2008, she was the runner-up at the senior-level national championships. That year, she also became the junior world champion.
In her first full senior-level season, Flatt finished second to Alissa Czisny at the 2009 national figure skating championships.
But it was at the 2009 world championships that Flatt truly began to shine. Although the pressure for the American women to succeed was high, she skated with a smile nearly the entire time — short program through long. She and Czisny needed to finish at least a combined 13th for the United States women’s team to be awarded three Olympic entries.
“I just want to have fun and try not to think about the pressure,” Flatt said. “I’m actually having a great time.”
Flatt finished fifth at the worlds, but Czisny was 11th, leaving the United States with two spots in the women’s event for only the second time since 1994.
For Flatt, her showing at the worlds moved her up in the rankings — and raised her chances of making the United States team. In the months leading up to the Olympics, she skated solidly, even beating the seemingly unshakable Kim Yu-na of South Korea in the long program at Skate America. Flatt finished second at that event.
Her love for skating began when Flatt was four. Her father, Jim, took her to the mall in San Diego, where they saw a local skating club’s exhibition. They came home with skating lessons for her.
Flatt’s family later moved to Colorado for her father’s job as a biochemical engineer. There, Flatt’s skating career took off. She is now training with Coach Tom Zakrajsek at the Broadmoor Skating Club. Her choreographer is Lori Nichol. She performs her short program to Sing, Sing, Sing by Louis Prima, a fun and bubbly number that heats up at the end. Her long program is set to Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Flatt has a life outside skating. She spent the summer touring the United States and visiting colleges with her mother, Jody. Some of the Ivy League universities and Stanford are her top choices. She is interested in studying engineering or medicine.
“It’s important for her to have a well-rounded life and not let skating take over everything,” Jody Flatt said at Skate America in November.
Rachael Flatt is also an animal lover. At home, she has two Old English sheepdogs named Fred and Ethel, named after Fred and Ethel Mertz in the television show I Love Lucy.
