The Best Performances of U.S. Figure Skater Rachel Flatt

Rachael Flatt is among the top ten figure skaters in th e U.S., and she hopes to make the U.S. Olympic Team and compete in Vancouver at the 2010 Winter Olympics. She may be peaking at the right moment. She first gained international attention in 2008 when she won the junior world champions. Flatt earned a silver medal at the 2008 and 2009 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Her strengths include technical precision and clean edges.

In the past year, Rachael has competed more, improving her confidence and helping her perfect some of her moves. A new choreographer has added some more artistic moves. These links offer a glimpse of what fans can expect from this California native.

1. 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Nationals Long Program
Flatt actually won the long program in 2008, which pushed her into the second podium position and a silver medal. Look closely at the ease in which her triple-triple jumps are performed. This performance is graceful and delivered with rare technical precision. This performance shows why Flatt may in fact be the U.S.'s best hope for a medal in figure skating this year.

2. 2008 Junior Figure Skating World Championships
Rachel Flatt was literally on top of the world during her last year as a junior skater. This performance shows that she can compete strongly under pressure, which is the type of composure U.S. skaters will need this year. (Just a side note...in two years skating as a senior, she has yet to medal in the world championshio.)

3. 2009 Cup of China Short Program
This routine has excellent jumps and really shows the flawless axle jumps Flatt usually delivers. This routine is energetic and a perfect match for Flatt's enthusiastic style. She weaves through all of her elements almost seamlessly. The viewer never gets the sense of jump-skate-spin-skate-jump style common to many skaters. You get the feeling from this routine that, if the stars line up, she could surprise the world in February.

4. 2009 Exhibition Routine
Flatt performed this routine at several events last year. Like most exhibition routines, this one is a little more on the dramatic side but Flatt keeps many of the more difficult moves required in competitive routines. This is simply beauty on ice. Possibly the best routine performed by any U.S. figure skater during 2009.

5. 2009 Long Program (Free Skate) U.S. Nationals
Look at the way she enters her spins. I love the way she does a little swirl leading in to them and I'm also impressed by the opposite spin at about 2 minutes and the reverse spin at the end. This performance is a good prediction of what we can expect this year. She's trained more, introduced some new coaches and has even been working with Dorothy Hamil. Her last jump, delivered after the half-way mark, is an impressive three-jump sequence. She has to fight for it, but everything is completed and very solid.