Update on Rachael Flatt

[NadineWhite]

The "exhibition show in February" (mentioned in the original article in post #1) is the annual club show of the Lakewood Winter Club and is taking place in Tacoma, Washington starting today, Friday afternoon, Feb. 8 through Sunday afternoon, Feb. 10. Rachael Flatt and Ben Agosto are this year's Special Guest Stars - here's the info: http://www.lakewoodwinterclub.com/Re..._Ice_Show.html

YES!!! Thanks for the much appreciated info.., Sylvia.

I just checked out their website, will have to print out the directions via mapquest, so hopefully me and a family member can attend one of the shows on either Saturday or Sunday. Can't go today because I have a doctor's appointment and a late night dinner out with family, but hopefully can attend one of those other days (fingers crossed).

As for the RA position, I was also one in college, it was highly competitive, based on grades, interview, recommendations, extracurricular activities, etc. In return I got free room & board; my very own room that's what I loved about it the most, lol. Seriously, it was a great time and I wish Rachael all the best!!!

[carriecmu0503]

I don't think 'everyone' knows who those two spots are going to. Ice is SO slippery. Did anyone think Rockne and Keanu weren't going to be Olympians? Until nationals happens, no one knows who is getting the spots (although the ladies you named are definetly presumed front runners.)

Keauna. Sorry, I don't mean to be picky, it's just that it's a common mistake.

[Skittl1321]

Thanks- I thought there was an A on the end of it, but also knew there was a 'u' so I didn't know where to put them all and didn't want to bother looking it up.

[essence_of_soy]

Still, I'm a bit scared of hip-hop Rapping Rachael

Images of Rebel Wilson dancing from Pitch Perfect flashed through my mind when I read that.

[Sylvia]

Scroll down for an update on Rachael Flatt in the latest edition (2/25/13) of "The Inside Edge" blog: http://web.icenetwork.com/news/artic...&vkey=ice_news
Excerpts:

Flatt had originally planned to go into bioengineering, but she seems to have made up her mind to become a doctor.

"I decided engineering wasn't my cup of tea," she said. "But after I took a procedural anatomy class, where we worked with cadavers, and a sports medicine class that I took this past fall, and I loved both of them, it was like 'OK, done.' I know what I'm doing."
...
Flatt is vague about whether she'll compete again.

"At this point, I'm obviously very busy with school and everything," she said. "At the same time, skating is near and dear to my heart, and I'd like to be involved as long as I possibly can. If I'm able to train without pain, that would be incredible. If I can do that, I would definitely consider competing through next year, but my health and academics come first; I wouldn't be at Stanford if that weren't the case."

[TheIronLady]

I guess we won't see any of those streetwise new moves she learned.

[IceAlisa]

Another skater/orthopedic surgeon in the making!

[Garden Kitty]

I wish her the best - both on the ice and with her career goals. She really seems to be enjoying her college experience.

[barbk]

I think she's proceeding in a much smarter way than Pluschenko, who I fear is likely to end up crippled.

[Sasha'sSpins]

Thank you for the link Sylvia! Rachael seems to have her priorities straight -health first, I like that and academics. I think it's unlikely she'll be back, especially for the Olympic season but I wish her great success in her endeavors. Dr. Rachael Flatt has a nice ring to it.

[Jot the Dot Dot]

Dr. Rachael Flatt has a nice ring to it.

And, as was noted before, having that cheery face and disposition is enough to brighten any patient's day!

[berthesghost]

I think she's proceeding in a much smarter way than Pluschenko, who I fear is likely to end up crippled.

Apples and oranges sadly.

Kwan oddly seems to be their theoretical love child. Like flatt, a smartie with interests and ambitions outside of skating. Like plushy, a superstar making mad $$ off of skating and almost crippling herself by staying in past her prime.

[skatesindreams]

This thread is not the place for a "dig" at MK; although it seems that any excuse will do!
I wish Rachael the very best.

[B.Cooper]

Thank you for the link Sylvia! Rachael seems to have her priorities straight -health first, I like that and academics. I think it's unlikely she'll be back, especially for the Olympic season but I wish her great success in her endeavors. Dr. Rachael Flatt has a nice ring to it.

Flatt references three years of injury issues in the IN article, and the fact she had reinjured her back again. Ugh! But, pretty cool that sponsors like Sony are reaching out to her to help with their Moving 650 project. Hope the vids are posted online by Sony.

-----As for skating, Flatt took two months off after Skate America to let her body heal.

"After nationals last year, I took some time off, and then I re-injured my back last summer," she said. "I've had really severe tendinitis for the last two or three seasons, and it really has not gone away. My body was just telling me to take it easy. It was definitely necessary. I feel much better."

Flatt says she is currently skating a couple of days a week; she skated in a show in Washington recently and said she had "a blast" doing it. She's also participating in the Moving 650 Project for Sony. Several athletes and dancers from the San Francisco area are using tiny video cameras to record what they do.

"I wore a helmet with the camera on top the other day [while I skated]," she said. "I definitely got some funny looks at the rink! I taped the camera onto my skate a couple mornings ago. I'm posting a lot of stuff on Facebook and Twitter."---------

[berthesghost]

This thread is not the place for a "dig" at MK; although it seems that any excuse will do!
I wish Rachael the very best.

No dig was made regardless of how you've chosen to interpret it. People were openly discussing Flatt's interests outside of skating and her injuries as significant to her discussion to continue competing or not. Likewise plushy. So I didn't just randomly bring up Kwan for no reason, it was still OT IMO.

I think we all wish rachael and every other skater the very best. We are after all skating fans.

Manleywoman's podcasts with carol heiss were very interesting as they touched upon not only her, but her husband's and bil's persuit of careers outside of skating and then return to the skating world.

It will be interesting to see what all these skaters decide to do in coming years.

[peibeck]

Rachael posted on FB that she has declared in the the Biology program at Stanford and spent part of last week shadowing an orthopedic doctor in the ER. She's also got some great photos people took at the event in Washington last week as well. She looks great. https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.ph...type=1&theater

[Ziggy]

I think she's proceeding in a much smarter way than Pluschenko, who I fear is likely to end up crippled.

Plushenko is capable of beating everyone else when at his peak. Flatt on the other hand...

[Susan M]

...(sarcasm on) Who cares if you think she couldn't compete at that level?

Woah. That was kind of uncalled-for. Since Rachel in the article does herself talk about the possibility of competing again, I don't see anything out of line in posters talking about whether they think she could be competitive again. I mean, differing opinions are kind of what this board is all about.

[NadineWhite]

Rachael's going to be a FAB doctor! However, I have to say I'm not surprised considering her father is a biochemical engineer and her mother is a molecular biologist; science runs in the family! It got me thinking how many doctors are in figure skating? The only ones I can think of off hand are Debbie Thomas and Tenley Albright (Sarah Hughes wanted to at one time because of her mother being a cancer survivor but changed her major ). That said, I know there must be more seeing as how figure skating is loaded with high achievers, with doctor being top notch imho. It's something that takes extreme dedication after all, because to become a doctor one typically spends 4 yrs. in an undergraduate college, then 4 years in a medical school, followed by internship and medical residency, which can take anywhere from 2-6 years depending on the complexity of the specialty that the doctor is entering. That's a good 10-16 years! (8^O Nevertheless, it's most likely a cake walk to a figure skater considering they spend practically all their lives on the ice, so spending over a decade to become a doctor seems like nothing in comparison. Jmho. (:^)

GOOOOOOOOOOO RACHAEL!!!!


ETA: lol i was just thinking of what Tara Lipinski said once when asked if she would ever go to college, and she replied something to the effect of when she's ready she will and it won't be "basket weaving". Well, Tara, becoming a doctor is definitely *not* basket weaving, you have to have the smarts. Here's hoping you too eventually go to college (it's never too late to learn) and surprise us all with your major, I'm waiting...

[Jot the Dot Dot]

Rachael posted on FB that she has declared in the the Biology program at Stanford and spent part of last week shadowing an orthopedic doctor in the ER. She's also got some great photos people took at the event in Washington last week as well. She looks great. https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.ph...type=1&theater

I tried the link, didn't work. Neither did her Facebook page have either the story or the photos