Wed., Dec. 9, 2009

Rachael Flatt Shines Not Only on the Ice

Reigning two-time U.S. silver medalist as well as 5^th best women’s figure skater in the world as of the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships in March, Rachael Flatt has the competitive spirit running through her veins.

Her grandfather, Horace Flatt, was a national fencing champion. So there's irony in the fact that while shopping for his birthday present one day with her father in the mall, instead she came home with skating lessons. Just 4 years old, Rachael took to the ice like a fish to water and by the age of 12, she was the U.S. Champion in the novice ladies division and the junior runner-up a year later in 2006. Her senior debut came in 2007 with a fifth place finish.

A member of the U.S. Figure Skating Scholastic Honors Team, Rachael is a straight-A student at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs where she trains. The school honored her with the 2008 Athletic Excellence Award.

Following her skating career, she is interested in pursuing the sciences—possibly biomechanical engineering, medical school and orthopedics. She recently visited a number of schools including Columbia, Harvard and Yale.

Rachael is also dedicated to reaching out and helping others. She is a volunteer with the learn-to-skate program at her local rink. She also has an active part in Blades for the Cure, a charitable organization that raises awareness and funds to benefit individuals and families faced with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. As well she is a spokesperson for the American Association of Orthodontists for the Band Together educational campaign

Rachael talks about these efforts close to her heart, as well as her skating career.

Posted Dec. 9, 2009, 6 a.m.