Q1: Are there parallels between firefighting and skeleton?

Lea Ann Parsley: You’re trying to remain calm while at the same time you’re making split-second decisions as you’re entering these turns so quickly. My fire job and nursing job run parallel to what I do as an athlete. We spend so much time preparing for the moment. In sports, it’s the race. In my other jobs, it’s the crisis situation. Yes, both are very risky and can be a little scary, but all that preparation and training and practice brings that risk level way down. Going 80 mph is pretty intense and running into a burning building is pretty intense, but after you’ve done it so many times, it becomes second nature.

Q2: How were you affected by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and tragedies?

Lea Ann Parsley: I was training in Calgary at the time, which made it difficult because I wasn’t able to be at home with my crew. I called them about three times that day to talk to them and hear their voices. For me the images of that day not only include those planes, but those trucks, too. That was very difficult watching the firefighters digging and hoping they were going to find a brother who had fallen.

Q3: When did you decide to become a firefighter?

Lea Ann Parsley: The town I grew up in is pretty small – about 3,000 people and three stoplights. I live about two blocks from the firehouse. I have two older brothers that were in the fire department before I joined. When I turned 16, the natural thing to do was sign on the dotted line and hop on a truck. (My brothers) are no longer in it and I turned it into a career.

Q4: Does skeleton seem less dangerous considering your job?

Lea Ann Parsley: Skeleton is a little less dangerous because we can control it better. When I’m running into a building or I’m involved with hazardous materials training, those are complete unknowns. A lot of times you have no idea what you’re dealing with, especially in today’s world. When I’m on the track, I’ve walked that track 100 times, I’ve been down the track in my mind 100 times, so I hope I know what’s coming. But in my job, that’s not necessarily the case.

Q5: What do your co-workers think of skeleton?

Lea Ann Parsley: The first time they saw it on video, they thought I was crazy. These guys are all sports nuts – football, car racing, everything. My chief’s brother was in the NFL, so they all understand the mindset of sports.

Q6: What is the reaction of people when they see skeleton for the first time?

Lea Ann Parsley: No one’s heard of this sport, but everyone’s done it. We’ve all had a Flexible Flyer that we hopped on at one time or another. We’ve just taken it to a much higher level with sleds that are a little more advanced and we’re going a little faster. I think when most people see the sport, it just takes them back to sled rides as a kid.

Q7: You played basketball and participated in track and field at Marshall University. How did that varied athletic background help you?

Lea Ann Parsley: Any kind of athletic background is going to help you. If you’ve got the guts to lie down and go headfirst, then no worries. The higher level you go (in the sport), the far more technical it gets. That’s what separates the club sliders from the higher level. Once you get on the sled, you become a pilot, kind of like a racecar driver. The physicality is there in that it takes a lot to take those G forces. My basketball background has helped a little because of the quickness, but I’ve never been a sprinter.

Q8: You also have played some team handball. What sport is next?

Lea Ann Parsley: Archery. When we were in Lake Placid last summer, the archery coaches were there and I asked if I could shoot one and he let me fire one off and I said, “OK, I’ll be picking this up next.” I’ve already got myself a coach for a camp next spring. I’m ready.

Q9: Have you had any spectacular crashes?

Lea Ann Parsley: Skeleton looks the scariest, but of the three sliding sports – luge, bobsled and skeleton – I think it’s probably the safest even though it doesn’t look like it. When I first started, we were in Altenberg, Germany, which is one of the most difficult tracks there is. I had been on a sled for two weeks and they took us over there. I didn’t know any better so I took off from the top … one of the worst sounds in skeleton is silence because it means you’re no longer on the ice – you’re in the air. I learned that very quickly. I remembered that one of the first things my coaches taught me was not to let go of the sled so I had a death grip on the sled and when I landed I was too far forward and landed on my chin and split it open pretty good.

Q10: How about any major injuries?

Lea Ann Parsley:We get pretty bruised up, but – knock on wood – I haven’t broken anything yet. When you’re learning a track for the first time, it’s pretty difficult. We do a lot of track walks to learn the left-right, left-right kind of things. But the first time we go down a track, we look like football players. The more you learn a track, the more you start peeling off those pads. By race day, you’re down to the suit.