Rachael Flatt

Flatt at the 2011 U.S. Championships gala
Personal information
Full name	Rachael Elizabeth Flatt
Born	(1992-07-21)July 21, 1992 (age 33) Del Mar, California, U.S.
Height	5 ft 2 in (1.58 m)
Figure skating career
Country	United States
Coach	Justin Dillon, Lynn Smith
Skating club	St. Moritz FSC
Began skating	1996
Retired	2014
Medal record Figure skating Representingthe United States World Team Trophy 2009 Tokyo Team World Junior Championships 2008 Sofia Ladies' singles Junior Grand Prix Final 2007–08 Gdansk Ladies' singles

Rachael Elizabeth Flatt (born July 21, 1992) is an American former competitivefigure skater. She is the2008 World Junior champion, a winner of four silver medals on theGrand Prix series, and the2010 U.S. national champion.

She was nominated to represent the United States at the2010 Winter Olympics and placed 7th. She is a 2015 graduate of Stanford University.

Flatt was born on July 21, 1992, inDel Mar, California.^[1] She is an only child.^[2] Her father is abiochemical engineer and her mother amolecular biologist.^[3][4] Her grandfather competed on the national level infencing.

Flatt is a 2010 graduate ofCheyenne Mountain High School inColorado Springs, Colorado.^[2] In spring 2015, she received a bachelor's degree fromStanford University, where she majored in biology with a minor in psychology.^[5][6] She was the junior class president and a member of the Alpha Phi sorority.^[5] In her senior year, she became a research assistant in the laboratory of Professor C. Barr Taylor.^[7][8] As of September 2018, she is focusing oneating disorders as a Ph.D. student under Dr. Cynthia Bulik at theUniversity of North Carolina.^[9]

In June 2019, Flatt got engaged to travel writer Eric Iwashita.^[10] The pair married on August 1, 2020, inColorado Springs.^[11][12]

Flatt began skating at age four.^[13] In addition to her singles career, Flatt also competed as apair skater from 2001 to 2004 with partnerAndrew Speroff.^[14] The pair won the silver medal at Nationals on the juvenile level in 2003 and the intermediate title in 2004.

Competing in ladies' singles, Flatt won the US Novice national title in 2005 at age 12. While, under other circumstances, this would have earned her an event on the Junior Grand Prix for the following season, Flatt was three weeks too young to compete internationally as a junior. She was invited to compete at the 2005 Triglav Trophy event in Slovenia, where she won the Novice competition. Later in 2005, Flatt was invited to compete at the 2005 North American Challenge competition as a junior lady, where she won the bronze medal. Flatt won the silver medal at US Nationals at the junior level in 2006.

Flatt missed the2006–2007 ISU Junior Grand Prix season due to injury, but qualified through the regional and sectional qualifying competitions, winning both, and made her senior debut at the2007 U.S. Championships, where she placed 5th and earned a bye to the2008 U.S. Championships. Flatt made her international debut as a junior in March 2007 at the International Challenge Cup, which she won. Flatt was often referred to as "Rachael the Rock" and was often called " The Consistency Queen" because of her ability to compete cleanly, landing up to seven triples in a freeskate, including her triple-triple combinations.^[15]

Flatt competed on the Junior Grand Prix for the first time in the2007–2008 season, winning the gold medal at her first JGP inVienna,Austria, and a silver medal at her second JGP inChemnitz,Germany. She qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final, placing third in the short program, first in the free skate, and winning the silver medal. At the2008 U.S. Championships inSt Paul, Minnesota, she won the silver medal on the senior level after winning the free skate.

Too young to be eligible for the seniorWorld Championships, Flatt was placed on the team to the2008 World Junior Championships. After placing third in the short program, she won the free skate and won the title overall. The American ladies – Flatt, Zhang and Nagasu – swept the podium.^[16]

Flatt began her season at the2008 Skate America, where she placed fourth overall. She also competed at2008 Cup of Russia, winning the silver medal behindCarolina Kostner ofItaly.^[17] Flatt won the silver medal at the2009 U.S. Championships. She placed 5th at the2009 World Championships afterMao Asada.^{[citation needed]}

Flatt won silver at the2009 Skate America and finished 4th at2009 Cup of China. She placed ahead of later Olympic championYuna Kim in the long program at Skate America.^[18] She won gold at the2010 U.S. Championships and was named in the U.S. Olympic team.^[19] At the2010 Winter Olympics inVancouver, Flatt placed 7th with 182.49 points. She finished ninth at the2010 World Championships.^{[citation needed]}

Flatt won a silver medal at the2011 U.S. Championships.^[20][21] She was sent to the2011 World Championships. A week before the event, Flatt was diagnosed with astress fracture in her righttibia (her landing leg).^[22] Nevertheless, her coachTom Zakrajsek stated that he felt that Flatt could complete her elements despite the stress fracture and did not request that the alternate,Mirai Nagasu, compete in her place.^[23] During the competition, Flatt had errors on one of her jumps in the short program and three in the free skate and finished in 12th place. In May 2011, Flatt confirmed that she was leaving Colorado Springs in order to study chemical engineering at Stanford University and would look for a new coach in the Bay Area.^[24] In June 2011,U.S. Figure Skating reprimanded and fined Flatt for not informing them of her injury in advance.^[25]

On August 19, 2011, Flatt announced that she would be working with Justin Dillon and Lynn Smith inOakland, California.^[3][26] She also spent some time training withSergei Ponomarenko inSan Jose andCharlie Tickner inRedwood City.^[2][3] Flatt was 10th at2011 Skate Canada International.^[27] Before leaving forRostelecom Cup, she sprained ligaments around her ankle joint and finished 9th at the event.^[28] Flatt said she would spend her holiday break in Colorado Springs working with Tom Zakrajsek and Becky Calvin.^[28] She competed at the2012 U.S. Championships and placed sixth.^{[citation needed]}

Flatt finished ninth at the2012 Skate America.^[29] On October 30, 2012, Flatt said she would miss the rest of the season due to the recurrence of an injury in her right lower leg and ankle.^[30]

Flatt completed the first step in qualifying for nationals by winning the 2014 Central Pacific Regionals. She placed first in both the short and the long with an overall score of 139.48.^[31] This was her first step in attempting to make her second Olympic team.^[32] In January 2014, she placed 18th at theU.S. Championships and announced her retirement from competitive skating.^[33]

Flatt signed an endorsement deal withAT&T, the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee (CPAC), and has also served as a spokesperson forReading Is Fundamental,^[4][34] as well as the US Anti-Doping Agency. In the lead-up to the 2010 Olympics, she was endorsed byMAC Cosmetics.^[35]

In 2016, she was inducted into the Colorado Springs Sports Hall Of Fame.^[36]

GP:Grand Prix; JGP:Junior Grand Prix

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