Rachel Parsons (figure skater)

Rachel Parsons
The Parsons at the 2018 Internationaux de France
Full name	Rachel Marie Parsons
Born	(1997-11-19) November 19, 1997 (age 26) Rockville, Maryland
Hometown	Derwood, Maryland
Height	1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Figure skating career
Country	United States
Began skating	2003
Retired	April 2, 2019
Medal record Representing   United States Figure skating: Ice dance World Junior Championships 2017 Taipei Ice dance 2016 Debrecen Ice dance Junior Grand Prix Final 2016–17 Marseille Ice dance 2015–16 Barcelona Ice dance

Rachel Marie Parsons (born November 19, 1997) is an American former competitive ice dancer. With her brother Michael Parsons, she is the 2018 NHK Trophy bronze medalist and a four-time silver medalist on the ISU Challenger Series (2018 CS Asian Open, 2018 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, 2018 CS Lombardia Trophy, 2017 CS Ondrej Nepela Memorial). Earlier in their career together, the Parsons won gold at the 2017 World Junior Championships, the 2016 Junior Grand Prix Final, and in the junior event at the 2017 U.S. Championships. They placed 4th at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics.

Personal life

Rachel Parsons was born November 19, 1997, in Rockville, Maryland. ^[1] She has two siblings – Michael and Katie. In 2016, she graduated from Magruder High School in Rockville, Maryland and currently attends Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida. ^[2] In August 2019, she came out as bisexual. ^[3]

Parsons participated in the June 1, 2020 protests in Lafayette Square, after concluding that "sitting at home and being angry wasn’t doing enough. I wanted to protest. I wanted to physically be there." She was hit by a rubber bullet when federal security services opened fire. A photograph of Parsons was featured on the June 2, 2020, edition of The Washington Post . ^[4]

Parsons now goes to Flagler College and works as a bartender at St. Augustine Fish Camp.

Career

Early years

Rachel Parsons started skating at age six because she wanted to learn how to stand up on the ice. ^[5] After joining the Wheaton Ice Skating Academy in June 2006, ^[6] she started focusing solely on ice dance. With Kyle MacMillan, she won gold on the juvenile level at the 2009 U.S. Championships and then gold on the intermediate level at the 2010 U.S. Championships. ^[5]

She teamed up with her older brother, Michael, in February 2010. ^[7] They won gold on the novice level at the 2011 U.S. Championships and debuted on the Junior Grand Prix (JGP) series in September 2011, placing 9th in Gdańsk, Poland. After taking the junior pewter medal at the 2012 U.S. Championships, they represented the United States at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics, placing 4th. They were also selected for the 2012 World Junior Championships in Minsk, Belarus, where they finished 15th.

Competing in the 2012–13 JGP series, the Parsons placed 6th in Linz, Austria, before taking bronze in Zagreb, Croatia.

2013–14 season

The Parsons obtained silver at both of their 2013–14 JGP assignments, which took place in Košice, Slovakia, and Ostrava, Czech Republic. They qualified for the JGP Final in Fukuoka, Japan, where they placed sixth. The duo won bronze at the junior level at the 2014 U.S. Championships and capped off their season with an 8th-place finish at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.

2014–15 season

The Parsons medaled at both their 2014–15 JGP assignments, receiving bronze in Aichi, Japan, and silver in Zagreb, Croatia. ^[8] They finished as the first alternates for the JGP Final and won silver on the junior level at the 2015 U.S. Championships. Concluding their season, they placed fourth at the 2015 World Junior Championships in Tallinn, Estonia.

2015–16 season: Junior World silver

During the 2015–16 JGP series, the Parsons were awarded gold in Bratislava, Slovakia, and Zagreb, Croatia. Competing in Barcelona, Spain, at their second JGP Final, the siblings took the bronze medal behind Lorraine McNamara / Quinn Carpenter and Alla Loboda / Pavel Drozd, having placed second in the short dance and fifth in the free. At the 2016 World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary, they placed first in the short and second in the free, winning the silver medal behind McNamara/Carpenter. ^[9]

2016–17 season: Junior World gold

Competing in their sixth JGP season, the Parsons were awarded gold in Yokohama, Japan, ^[10] and Dresden, Germany, both times ahead of Russia's Anastasia Shpilevaya / Grigory Smirnov. In December 2016, they competed at the JGP Final in Marseille, France; ranked second in the short and first in the free, they won the title by a margin of 0.63 over Loboda/Drozd. ^[11]

The following month, the Parsons would win their first junior national title at the 2017 U.S. Championships, over 11 points clear of the field. The siblings would cap off their undefeated season by winning the 2017 World Junior Championships; similar to the 2016–17 JGP Final, the Parsons won the event overall after placing second in the short and first in the free, earning an even narrower victory of 0.56 ahead of Loboda/Drozd. The Parsons earned personal bests in their combined total and free dance scores at their fifth trip to the Junior Championships. ^[12]

2017–18 season: International senior debut

Moving to the senior level, the Parsons debuted at the Lake Placid Ice Dance International, winning the silver medal behind longtime rivals McNamara/Carpenter, who were also making their senior debut. They then took the silver medal at the 2017 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy, their debut on the ISU Challenger series. Assigned to two Grand Prix events, they finished ninth at Skate America and seventh at the Rostelecom Cup. They then competed at a second Challenger event, the Golden Spin of Zagreb, where they finished eighth.

Competing at the senior level at the 2018 U.S. Championships, they placed fifth, and thus did not qualify for the U.S. Olympic team. They were instead sent to the 2018 Four Continents Championships, where they finished sixth.

2018–19 season: Final season

"Skating has given me so much. I was able to travel all over the world, make so many unforgettable memories, meet the most incredible people, and compete proudly for my country. To experience all of this with my big brother by my side has been the best part. This sport has made me who I am today. I couldn’t be more grateful to everyone who has supported Michael and me through the years. I want to say a huge thank you to our friends, family, coaches, everyone at US Figure Skating, our sponsors who have made this dream possible and everyone else who helped us along the way, I feel so blessed. I’m not sure what this new chapter of my life will bring, but I’m excited about the future. I’ll continue to cheer Michael on as he continues on this incredible journey for the both of us, I’ll just be rooting for him from the stands."

—Rachel Parsons, April 2, 2019 ^[13]

After a second straight silver medal at Lake Placid's summer ice dance event, the siblings competed in three straight Challenger events, winning consecutive silver medals at the Asian Open, Nebelhorn Trophy and Nepela Trophy. At their first Grand Prix event in Japan, the 2018 NHK Trophy, they won their first and only Grand Prix medal, a bronze. At the 2018 Internationaux de France, their second Grand Prix, they finished fifth. At the 2019 U.S. Championships, the Parsons placed sixth.

On April 2, 2019, Rachel announced on Instagram that she was retiring from figure skating following a lengthy struggle with an eating disorder. Her brother Michael intended to continue skating, and subsequently formed a new partnership with Caroline Green. ^[13]

Programs

(with Michael Parsons)

Season	Short dance	Free dance	Exhibition
2018–2019 [14]	Tango: Vuelvo al Sur by Medialuna Tango Project Tango: Tango Cha by Sergio Belem	To Build a Home by The Cinematic Orchestra & Patrick Watson
2017–2018 [15]	Rhumba: Mambo Molly by Mambo Molly Slow rhumba: Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime by Zucchero Mambo: Congo Crazed by Mambo Molly	Ghost Dances La Partida by Victor Jara Sikuriadas by Inti Illimani Quiaquenpita by Inti Illimani
2016–2017 [1] [10]	Hip hop: A Little Party Never Killed Nobody by Fergie, Q-Tip, GoonRock Blues: Born to Die by Lana Del Rey Hip hop	Singing in the Rain arranged by Sophia Sin, Alexander Goldstein	Knockin' On Heaven's Door by Selig Disco Inferno by The Trammps with McNamara/Carpenter
2015–2016 [16]	Waltz: Cinderella's Departure for the Ball (from Cinderella) by Sergei Prokofiev	La Malamada Palabras y Vientoby by Medialuna Tango Project	Elevation by U2
2014–2015 [17]	Rhumba: Fruta Fresca (Club remix) by Carlos Vives Samba: Heart of the Wind by Robert Tree Cody	Notre-Dame de Paris by Riccardo Cocciante, Bruno Pelletier
2013–2014 [7]	Quickstep: Funny Girl Overture by Jule Styne Foxtrot: Funny Girl Overture Quickstep: Funny Girl Overture	New Moon by Alexandre Desplat Time Back by Bad Style
2012–2013 [18]	Hip hop: 4 Minutes by Justin Timberlake, Madonna Blues: Cyber Shanty Town Blues by Christian HipHop Factory Hip hop: 4 Minutes by Justin Timberlake, Madonna	Faust by Charles Gounod Walpurgis Night Three Nymphs
2011–2012 [19]	Psychedelic Sally by Eddie Jefferson	To Glory by Thomas J. Bergersen Enigmatic Soul by Thomas J. Bergersen
2010–2011 [5]		The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky

Competitive highlights

(with Michael Parsons)

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix

International [20]
Event	10–11	11–12	12–13	13–14	14–15	15–16	16–17	17–18	18–19
Four Continents								6th
GP France									5th
GP NHK Trophy									3rd
GP Rostelecom								7th
GP Skate America								9th
CS Asian Open									2nd
CS Golden Spin								8th
CS Lombardia									2nd
CS Nebelhorn									2nd
CS Ondrej Nepela								2nd
Lake Placid IDI								2nd	2nd
International: Junior [20]
Junior Worlds		15th		8th	4th	2nd	1st
Youth Olympics		4th
JGP Final				6th		3rd	1st
JGP Austria			6th
JGP Croatia			3rd		2nd	1st
JGP Czech Rep.				2nd
JGP Germany							1st
JGP Japan					3rd		1st
JGP Poland		9th
JGP Slovakia				2nd		1st
Lake Placid IDI						1st J	1st J
Toruń Cup					2nd J
National [5] [6]
U.S. Champ.	1st N	4th J		3rd J	2nd J	2nd J	1st J	5th	6th
Eastern Sect.	1st N	2nd J	2nd J		2nd J
Levels: N = Novice; J = Junior TBD = Assigned

References

1. "Rachel PARSONS / Michael PARSONS: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 20, 2017.
2. Shaffer, Jonas (March 26, 2016). "Two local ice-dancing pairs back from Hungary and closer than ever". The Baltimore Sun .
3. Parsons, Rachel [@rae_ontherocks] (August 18, 2019). "Ladies and Gents, for those that aren't aware, I like girls too" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
4. Hull, Steve (3 June 2020). "For Derwood woman, a harrowing experience at Lafayette Park protest". Bethesda Magazine.
5. "Rachel Parsons / Michael Parsons". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2016.
   • "Earlier versions: 2012 to 2013". Archived from the original on February 3, 2012.
6. "Rachel Parsons". Wheaton Ice Skating Academy. Archived from the original on October 11, 2014.
7. "Rachel PARSONS / Michael PARSONS: 2013/2014". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 21, 2014.
8. Slater, Paula (July 21, 2015). "Parsons and Parsons look to raise the bar". Golden Skate.
9. Flade, Tatjana (20 March 2016). "McNamara and Carpenter take World Junior title". Golden Skate.
10. Xiong, Wei (September 30, 2016). "Parsons and Parsons: "We are always trying to improve"". Golden Skate.
11. Kondakova, Anna (9 December 2016). "Parsons and Parsons capture gold in Marseille". Golden Skate.
12. Flade, Tatjana (18 March 2017). "USA's Rachel and Michael Parsons clinch Junior World title". Golden Skate.
13. Parson, Rachel (April 2, 2019). "I've written and rewritten this post so many times I've lost count..." (Instagram). Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
14. "Rachel PARSONS / Michael PARSONS: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 7, 2019.
15. "Rachel PARSONS / Michael PARSONS: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018.
16. "Rachel PARSONS / Michael PARSONS: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on June 30, 2016.
17. "Rachel PARSONS / Michael PARSONS: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015.
18. "Rachel PARSONS / Michael PARSONS: 2012/2013". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on February 6, 2013.
19. "Rachel PARSONS / Michael PARSONS: 2011/2012". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on April 18, 2012.
20. "Competition Results: Rachel PARSONS / Michael PARSONS". International Skating Union.

External links

Media related to Rachel Parsons at Wikimedia Commons

• Rachel Parsons / Michael Parsons at the International Skating Union
• Rachel Parsons / Michael Parsons Archived 2016-09-07 at the Wayback Machine at IceNetwork.com