Ice Dancing Champions Honored by Montgomery County Council

ROCKVILLE, MD — A brother-sister duo was honored for their ice dancing accomplishments by the Montgomery County Council on Tuesday. Rockville residents Rachel and Michael Parsons recently became the first brother and sister pair to win the ice dancing gold medal in the International World Junior Figure Skating Competition in Taiwan.

Over 180 skaters competed in the International World Junior Figure Skating Competition — an annual figure skating competition held by the International Skating Union where figure skaters within a designated age range compete for the title of World Junior champion. The Parsons produced their best-ever score to come from behind and pass the then-leading Russian team to win the title March 18. The siblings set a new personal best in the free dance section, scoring 97.54 and finishing with a point total of 164.83, winning the gold medal and their first World title.

Michael, 21, learned to skate at age seven to play hockey, but he ultimately decided to pursue figure skating. Michael joined the Wheaton Ice Skating Academy in December 2003. Rachel, 19, started skating at age six and joined the Wheaton Ice Skating Academy in June 2006. They now represent the Washington Figure Skating Club and Team USA.

Michael and Rachel teamed up in February 2010. Since then, they've competed across the U.S. and abroad in Austria, Slovakia, Japan, Croatia, Poland and more. Together the siblings won gold on the novice level at the 2011 U.S. Championships and placed ninth in the Junior Grand Prix series in Poland September 2011. They then represented the U.S. at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics and placed fourth.

The duo said their next goal this year is to qualify for the U.S. National Championships, and they ultimately hope to represent the U.S. in the Winter Olympics.

You can find out more about the Parsons on their website.

Photo: Councilmember Nancy Navarro, Michael and Rachel, their father Rich and Councilmember Nancy Floreen.