Rachael Flatt

1.1. Childhood and Family Background

Rachael Elizabeth Flatt was born on July 21, 1992, in Del Mar, California. She is an only child. Her parents, a biochemical engineer father and a molecular biologist mother, supported her interests. Flatt also has a family background in competitive sports, with her grandfather having competed at the national level in fencing. Flatt began her skating journey at the age of four. Early in her career, her family moved to Boulder, Colorado, due to her father's work. However, the commute to Colorado Springs, Colorado, for her training sessions became arduous, requiring a two-hour drive each way. This challenge ultimately led her family to relocate to Colorado Springs to facilitate her rigorous training schedule.

1.2. Academic Background

Flatt is a 2010 graduate of Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs. After high school, she pursued higher education at Stanford University, from which she received a bachelor's degree in Spring 2015. She majored in biology and minored in psychology, showcasing her aptitude for science. During her time at Stanford, she was actively involved in student life, serving as the junior class president and becoming a member of the Alpha Phi sorority. In her senior year, she joined the laboratory of Professor C. Barr Taylor as a research assistant, indicating her early engagement in scientific inquiry. Following her undergraduate studies, Flatt continued her academic pursuits as a Ph.D. student at the University of North Carolina. As of September 2018, she has been conducting research under Dr. Cynthia Bulik, with a primary focus on the study of eating disorders.

2.1. Early Career and Junior Level

Flatt began skating at the age of four. In addition to her notable singles career, she also competed as a pair skater with Andrew Speroff from 2001 to 2004. This partnership yielded successes at the national level, including a silver medal in the juvenile division at the 2003 U.S. Championships and an intermediate title in 2004.

Transitioning to ladies' singles, Flatt quickly made her mark, winning the US Novice national title in 2005 at the age of 12. Though she was too young to compete internationally as a junior in the subsequent ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) season, she was invited to the 2005 Triglav Trophy event in Slovenia, where she won the Novice competition. Later that year, she earned a bronze medal as a junior lady at the 2005 North American Challenge competition. In 2006, Flatt secured the silver medal at the junior level of the U.S. Championships.

The 2006-2007 ISU Junior Grand Prix season saw Flatt sidelined due to an injury, but she returned to competition, winning her regional and sectional qualifying events. She made her senior debut at the 2007 U.S. Championships, placing 5th, which granted her a bye to the following year's championships. In March 2007, Flatt made her international junior debut at the International Challenge Cup, where she emerged victorious. During this period, she earned the nicknames "Rachael the Rock" and "The Consistency Queen" due to her reputation for clean programs, often landing up to seven triple jumps in her free skate, including various triple-triple combinations.

Flatt entered the Junior Grand Prix circuit for the first time in the 2007-2008 season, securing gold at her inaugural JGP event in Vienna, Austria, and a silver medal at her second JGP in Chemnitz, Germany. These performances qualified her for the Junior Grand Prix Final, where she earned a silver medal after placing third in the short program and first in the free skate. At the 2008 U.S. Championships in St Paul, Minnesota, she won the senior silver medal after dominating the free skate. Being too young for the senior World Championships, Flatt was assigned to the 2008 World Junior Championships. There, she won the overall title after finishing third in the short program and first in the free skate, contributing to an historic American sweep of the podium with fellow skaters Caroline Zhang and Mirai Nagasu.

2.2. Senior Career Highlights

Rachael Flatt's senior career was marked by consistent high-level performances and her participation in major international competitions, including the Olympic Games.

2.3. Skating Technique

Rachael Flatt was known for her technically strong and consistent skating style. She was capable of performing various triple-triple jump combinations, which are high-scoring elements in figure skating. She mastered the toe loop-toe loop combination by the 2005-2006 season, followed by the lutz-toe loop in the 2006-2007 season, and the flip-toe loop by the 2008-2009 season. A unique aspect of her technique was the incorporation of spins that rotated in both counter-clockwise and clockwise directions within her 2008-2009 free skate program. Furthermore, at the 2011 World Figure Skating Championships, she earned a Level 4 for her straight-line step sequence in the short program, highlighting her strong foundational skating skills and artistry. Her ability to consistently deliver clean programs and execute complex jumps earned her the nicknames "Rachael the Rock" and "The Consistency Queen" among her peers and fans.

2.4. Programs

Rachael Flatt's competitive programs featured a diverse selection of music, choreographed to showcase her technical abilities and artistic expression.

6. Legacy and Evaluation

Rachael Flatt's figure skating career is remembered for her consistent technical ability and strong competitive performances.