Seventeen year old Rachael Flatt, the 2008 World Junior Champion and 2008 US Championships silver medalist, has her sights squarely set on the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. After a short holiday in Hawaii this summer, Rachael is headed back to the ice, working with her mentor Dorothy Hamill, training and getting ready to make her mark on the world. LifeSkate.com spent a few minutes with Rachael earlier this summer and asked her about summer, her plans for the future and getting ready for the Olympics.

And like most 17-year olds, Rachel is now back in school – juggling class work and training – and as a high school senior, college applications. The Olympic hopeful has mastered the secret strategy for successful student-athletes – time management! Her typical day is spent between public high school (and AP classes none the less), training on and off-ice, prepping for SATs and college applications and trying to keep the balance!

The Olympic trials for ice skating will be held in conjunction withe US Nationals to be held January 14-24, 2010 in Spokane, Washington. This will allow approximately four weeks of training for the team prior to the Olympic games.

Photo: USOC Athlete Portraits/Getty Images

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