Katie Parker

Fast Facts

Sport: Alpine Skiing
Events: Slalom, Giant Slalom
Olympic History: Beijing 2022
Highlights: Competing at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games and Beijing 2022
Year Born: 1998
State Born: Victoria

About Katie

Katie took up skiing at age four and Katie became an Australian national champion in moguls and several alpine disciplines at 10 years of age.

Her mother Jenny drove Katie to competitions and training camps at Mount Buller in winter, and then in the summer the family would head to the United States to ski on the northern winter slopes.

It’s little wonder Katie’s career has continued to dovetail between the two countries.

Katie has enjoyed two years on Snow Australia’s ski team, alongside three years with the University of Utah’s alpine team ‘The Utes’.

The Melbourne-raised athlete has created a strong reputation among the RMISA (Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association), which has been a leader in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) skiing world in the US since 1950.

She earned All-America honours in the giant slalom at the 2020 NCAA Championships and has recorded two podium finishes, four top-five finishes and 12 career top-10 finishes in her three seasons with The Utes.

Prior to joining The Utes in 2019, Katie was a Sugar Bowl Academy graduate in California (USA) with her fellow Beijing 2022 alpine skiing Olympic debutant Louis Muhlen-Schulte.

Katie competed at both the 2018 US National Junior (6th super-g) and US National Open Championships (7th super-g, 13th slalom, 13th giant slalom).

She had a strong ending to 2021 despite all the pandemic disruptions, with two top-10 finishes (5th giant slalom and 9th slalom) in the Nor-Am Cup leg at Panorama, Canada, in December.

After being selected to make her Olympic debut at Beijing 2022, Katie needed all the dedication and determination she could draw on to fulfil her dream.

Her arrival was delayed due to COVID-19 testing issues, which ruled Katie out of the giant slalom. Once she arrived at the Games, Katie only found out at 5am on the slalom competition day that she would be allowed to compete.

"I really struggled unfortunately, but I was just really happy to push out of the start gate." Katie said.

"But I was just really happy to push out of the start gate.

"I tried really hard to get here, I earned my spot on this team and now I'm an Olympian. I'm exhausted but so happy to be here."