Women of Wonder – 50 Years of Title IX: Cheyenne Mountain’s Olympic legend Rachael Flatt
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Olympic journey for Rachael Flatt, started at four years old.
"I look back at some of my old Kindergarten and first-grade yearbooks and it's like what do you wanna be when you grow up? I had 'professional ice skater' or being a vet and... I think it was always something I had considered but never thought 'realistic possibility,'" said Rachael, now a Ph.D. student at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Rachael believes her parents saw skating talent in her early on. But the 'Olympic dream?' That wasn't on her mind until she was at the peak of her adolescent career.
"I felt like I always had to continue to improve and continue to prove myself so... it didn't really become something I thought about often until I actually made the team," she said.
By age 12, Rachael would become the U.S. Novice national champion in figure skating (2005), and by 2008, the world junior champion. By 2010 she was competing for the U.S. in the Vancouver Olympic Games.
In the middle of all of it, she graduated Summa Cum Ladue from Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs.
"It was busy to say the least," laughed Rachael. "I think a lot of people would have looked at my schedule and thought I was kinda crazy."
Rachael was also the U.S. Figure Skating National Champion in 2010. She finished 7th in the women's program at the Winter Olympics that year.
"It was a totally surreal moment. And I think there was a lot of context to that event in particular for us... so the mood around that event I think was really different than it probably had been in prior Olympics... and everyone was very supportive of each other so in that sense it kinda took some of the pressure off," she explained.
"It all worked well in that I was able to compete and put the best performances out there that I could. But at the same time, it just felt like a much bigger moment and there were a lot of other emotions going on outside of the stress and the fear," said Rachael.
But even more important than her performance on the world stage was how she exited her career at Nationals in 2014.
"I had two imperfect performances. They weren't what I was hoping for," she said. "And I just distinctly remember my coach at the time, Justin, turning me around after I had finished my long program and he said, 'this is your time to say goodbye and wave goodbye'... and it was just one of those moments where I realized you know, I have done a lot in this sport, you can look at all these accomplishments I've had, but for me, I finally found my passion and love for this sport again at the end of my career," said Rachael.
Rachael’s advice today for young skaters? Stay grounded.
"You have to prioritize your health and wellness and you have to have balance in your life."
But at the same time, lift up and support those around you.
"We have to keep pushing the envelope ... it's more now about the equity, the inclusion piece, the advocacy piece, the empowerment piece," she said. "Making sure that people feel like they actually have the right to be, whatever level of sport they want to participate in, feel included, feel there is a sense of equity across the board," said Rachael, noting she wants to empower athletes.
"Now, more than ever, we have to really, really lean on each other and ensure this is something that we collectively prioritize. And no longer ask for but demand 'this is what we need.'"
Rachael finished her undergrad at Stanford years ago and is now heading into her last year for her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at UNC Chapel Hill.
This summer is the 50th anniversary of Title Nine. The law prohibited sex-based discrimination in schools, guaranteeing a level playing field for female athletics for the first time in our nation’s history. To celebrate the anniversary, KRDO’s Josh Helmuth is showcasing nine of the most remarkable female athletes to come out of southern Colorado.
