Julie Parisien

Julie Madelein Josephine Parisien (born August 2, 1971) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States. She specialized in the technical events of slalom and giant slalom. Parisien was the silver medalist in the slalom at the 1993 World Championships and competed in three Olympics.

Julie Parisien

Alpine skier
Disciplines	Slalom, Giant slalom, Combined, Super G, Downhill
Club	Lost Valley Race Club
Born	August 2, 1971 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
World Cup debut	December 1990 (age 19)[1]
Retired	March 1994 (age 22) October 1998 (age 27)[2]
Olympics
Teams	3 – (1992, 1994, 1998)
Medals	0
World Championships
Teams	1 – (1993)
Medals	1 (0 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	4 – (1991–1994)
Wins	3 – (2 SL, 1 GS)
Podiums	4 – (3 SL, 1 GS)
Overall titles	0 – (15th in 1992)
Discipline titles	0 – (7th in SL, 1993)
Medal record Women's alpine skiing Representing the  United States World Championships 1993 Morioka Slalom Junior World Ski Championships 1989 Alyeska Super G

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Parisien's mother was born in Australia and her father, an orthopedic surgeon, in Canada. The family moved from Quebec to Maine when Julie was less than a year old. She and her three siblings were raised just outside Auburn, about a mile (1.6 km) from the Lost Valley Ski Area. On skis at age two, she followed her two older brothers and attended the Burke Mountain Academy in northeastern Vermont.[3] Her siblings Rob (b. 1970) and Anne-Lise (b. 1972) also competed at the Olympics in alpine skiing.[4] The eldest brother, Jean Paul (1968–92), captained the Williams College ski team and coached at Burke Mountain Academy. He was killed in a hit-and-run highway accident in December 1992, forced off the road by a drunk driver.[5][6][7]

Parisien had won her third World Cup race in late November 1992 at Park City, and in the first two slalom events in January 1993 she placed fourth and sixth. She then won the silver medal in the slalom at the World Championships in Japan. But the loss of her brother affected her and she struggled in the 1994 season.[7] After a disappointing 1994 Winter Olympics, Parisien left the U.S. Ski Team and competed on the women's pro tour in North America.[4][8][9] She was rookie of the year in 1995 and finished second in the standings.[10] Parisien dominated the pro tour next two years,[2] then qualified for the 1998 Olympics,[11][12] and finished 13th in the slalom at Nagano. At her first Olympics in 1992 in France, she held a slim lead after the first run in the slalom but finished fourth, missing a medal by 0.05 seconds.[3]

After summer glacier training with the U.S. Ski Team in Europe, Parisien decided it was time to retire from competition in the fall of 1998.[2] She was inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and the National Ski Hall of Fame in 2006.[13]

World Cup results

Season standings

Season	Age	Overall	Slalom	Giant Slalom	Super G	Downhill	Combined
1991	19	39	34	10	–	–	—
1992	20	15	8	16	23	–	—
1993	21	27	7	33	35	52	—
1994	22	72	26	–	–	–	—
1995	23	retired, did not compete
1996	24
1997	25
1998	26	3 events, no World points (top 30)

Race podiums

• 3 wins - (2 SL, 1 GS)
• 4 podiums - (3 SL, 1 GS)

Season	Date	Location	Discipline	Place
1991	22 Mar 1991	Waterville Valley, US	Giant slalom	1st
1992	14 Jan 1992	Hinterstoder, Austria	Slalom	3rd
	2 Mar 1992	Sundsvall, Sweden	Slalom	1st
1993	29 Nov 1992	Park City, USA	Slalom	1st

World Championship results

Year	Age	Slalom	Giant   Slalom	Super G	Downhill	Combined
1993	21	2	17	25	–

Olympic results

Year	Age	Slalom	Giant   Slalom	Super G	Downhill	Combined
1992	20	4	5	DSQ	—	—
1994	22	DSQ2	—	—	—	DSQ DH
1998	26	13	28	—	—	—

References

1. "Parisien is 37th in women's race". Sun-Journal. Lewiston, ME. Associated Press. December 17, 1990. p. 26.
2. Robbins, Paul (October 23, 1998). "Parisien leaving U.S. alpine team". Sun-Journal. Lewiston, ME. p. A1.
3. Johnson, William Oscar (December 7, 1992). "La Belle Parisien". Sports Illustrated: 74.
4. Robbins, Paul (August 26, 1994). "Parisien turns pro". Sun-Journal. Lewiston, ME. p. 23.
5. Delamater, Mary (December 18, 1992). "Parisien son dies in crash". Sun-Journal. Lewiston, ME. p. 1.
6. Matolcsy, Aranka (December 17, 1993). "Judge expected to rule today on evidence in Parisien case". Sun-Journal. Lewiston, ME. p. 1.
7. Brett, Victoria (March 11, 1994). "Drunken driver gets 4-year term in death of Jean Paul Parisien". Bangor Daily News. p. 14.
8. Haynes, Laurie J. (February 8, 1995). "Parisien returns to slopes she skied as a kid". Sun-Journal. Lewiston, ME. p. 1.
9. Moores, Sean (March 17, 1995). "Parisien settles in on Pro Ski circuit". Sun-Journal. Lewiston, ME. p. 23.
10. "Parisien is Pro Ski Tour rookie of year". Bangor Daily News. March 20, 1995. p. C2.
11. "Parisien buoys U.S. medal hopes". Sun-Journal. Lewiston, ME. Associated Press. September 22, 1997. p. 1A.
12. Irons, Dave (December 29, 1997). "Gold Cup gives Parisien an extra chance". Sun-Journal. Lewiston, ME. p. 1A.
13. "Julie Parisien U.S. Ski Hall inductee". Bangor Daily News. October 10, 2006. p. C6.

External links

• Julie Parisien at the International Ski Federation
• Julie Parisien World Cup standings at the International Ski Federation
• Julie Parisien at Ski-DB Alpine Ski Database
• Julie Parisien at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
• U.S. Ski Hall of Fame – Julie Parisien – inducted 2006
• Maine Sports Hall of Fame – Julie Parisien – inducted 2001 at the Wayback Machine (archived 2013-10-14)
• Ski Museum of Maine Hall of Fame – Julie Parisien – inducted 2008