Julie Madelein Josephine Parisien (born August 2, 1971) is a former World Cup

alpine ski racer Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing (cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

from the United States. She specialized in the technical events of

slalom To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to: Sports ;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding * Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Super-G ...

and

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant slalom and slalom make up t ...

. Parisien was the silver medalist in the slalom at the World Championships in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

and competed in three

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. 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 Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

, about a mile (1.6 km) from the

Lost Valley Ski Area Lost Valley is a ski area in the northeastern United States, in Auburn, Maine. Its east-facing slopes feature 21 trails & 9 gladed trails across the hill, and is served by four lifts two chairlifts, one ground lift carpet & one tow lift in th ...

. On skis at age two, she followed her two older brothers and attended the Burke Mountain Academy in

northeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

Vermont. Her siblings Rob (b.1970) and Anne-Lise (b.1972) also competed at the Olympics in alpine skiing. 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 Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is invo ...

. Parisien had won her third World Cup race in late November 1992 at Park City, and in the first two slalom events in January

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 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

season. After a disappointing

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

, Parisien left the

U.S. Ski Team The U.S. Ski Team, operating under the auspices of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, develops and supports men's and women's athletes in the sports of alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, cross-country, ski jumping, and Nordic combined. Since 1974 the team and ...

and competed on the women's pro tour in North America. She was rookie of the year in 1995 and finished second in the standings. Parisien dominated the pro tour next two years, then qualified for the

1998 Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...

, and finished 13th in the

at Nagano. At her first Olympics in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

in France, she held a slim lead after the first run in the

but finished fourth, missing a medal by 0.05 seconds. After summer glacier training with the U.S. Ski Team in Europe, Parisien decided it was time to retire from competition in the fall She was inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and the National Ski Hall of Fame After finishing her career in competitive skiing, Parisien completed her degree in nursing. She graduated from the University of Southern Maine in 2003. As of 2023, Parisien resides in

Kalispell Kalispell (, Montana Salish: Ql̓ispé, Kutenai language: kqayaqawakⱡuʔnam) is a city in, and the county seat of, Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2020 census put Kalispell's population at 24,558. In Montana's northwest region, ...

, Montana where she works in gastroenterology.

World Cup results

Season standings

Race podiums

* 3 wins - (2 SL, 1 GS) * 4 podiums - (3 SL, 1 GS); 15 top tens (9 SL, 6 GS, 1 SG)

World Championship results

Olympic results

References

External links

* * *
U.S. Ski Hall of Fame
– Julie Parisien – inducted 2006 *
Ski Museum of Maine Hall of Fame
– Julie Parisien – inducted 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Parisien, Julie 1971 births Living people American female alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers for the United States Alpine skiers at the 1992 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1994 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1998 Winter Olympics Skiers from Montreal 21st-century American women