Anna Parisien succeeding in coming out of shadows

It’s tough being the younger sister, especially if the older sister is a go-getter who commands the spotlight.

I speak from personal experience as the younger sister of a go-getter, and, professionally, as one who has covered siblings in competition.

That is why I feel a twinge of guilt this morning as I watch and wait for skier Anna Parisien of Auburn to compete in the 1994 Winter Olympics with her older sister, Julie.

Guilt because if anyone should recognize what it is like to live in someone’s shadow and, as a writer, integrate that aspect of a person’s life into my work, it is me.

I wouldn’t describe my older sister as a perfect child, but it seemed to me she never did anything wrong. Consequently, any activity she pursued, I tried to do better or, at the very least, sooner. Sometimes I succeeded, sometimes I failed.

As we matured, unlike the Parisiens, my sister and I chose different paths. The unspoken competition between us decreased with time, eventually disappearing altogether. In retrospect, that probably made life more comfortable for each of us.

But such startlingly clear memories of those if-she-can-do-it-I-can-do-it days remain, that I am left with a deep and abiding appreciation of Anna Parisien’s personal stamina and determination to excel in the same sport as her older sister.

As one of those younger sisters, I should have been more sensitive to Anna’s situation. In a recent column on the Parisiens, I mentioned skiing in her sister’s shadow merely in passing.

Julie Parisien, 22, is now a two-time Olympian who, prior to this season, had finished second in one World Championship and qualifed for another, had three World Cup titles among 17 top-15 finishes, and had won three national championships among 12 top-five finishes.

How would you like to follow a record like that or, worse yet, be the fourth Parisien to try and make your mark in the world of skiing?

For Anna Parisien skis in more than one shadow: their older brother, Robbie, was a member of the 1992 Olympic team, and their late brother, Jean-Paul, was a professional skier.

Making the Olympics is 21-year-old Anna’s most significant accomplishment to date. Prior to this season, she had not appeared in any world championship or World Cup competition, and her best national finish is a tie for fourth among six top-25 finishes.

During a recent press conference with Maine Olympic skiing hopefuls at Sugarloaf-USA, I was able to spend more time with Anna simply because she had more time to spare. Other media were more interested in her sister, the Olympian. They needed the sound bites from Julie, not Anna, and I was willing to wait my turn.

So it was Anna, then a member of the U.S. Alpine “B” team working to join her sister on the Alpine “A” team, who told me of the family’s struggle in dealing with the death of Jean-Paul, killed a year ago in an auto accident when he was run off the road by a drunken driver.pled guilty to drunken driving and manslaughter

It was Anna who spoke of the great effort it is taking for her and her sister, brought into ski racing by this brother, to recover from his loss and keep on competing.

I don’t honestly believe, at the time, Anna thought she would be with Julie in Lillehammer today. She was working toward it, she said.

Becoming an Olympian was an ultimate goal, but I got the impression it was not an immediate one, which makes this accomplishment even more remarkable. Her modesty, perhaps, disguised her inner drive.

The Parisien sisters approach life from opposite sides of the table: Anna quietly, from within; Julie noisily, from without. Both have their feet on the ground, but Julie’s head is often in the clouds while Anna’s shoulder is to the wheel.

Julie’s fire you can see in her eyes and hear in her voice. Anna’s fire comes from deep within, resting tenaciously there. But while their approaches to life differ, their goals are the same: to be the best.

I am thrilled for the Parisien family, and for all of us who are privileged to share their joy, as their daughters march, together, into the Olympic Stadium.

Anna – the younger, shorter, smaller Parisien, the little sister – caught many of us off guard.

We weren’t quite ready for this. But she was. Way to go, Anna!