Mike and Amy Parratto need some sleep.
Minnesota parent-coaches celebrate a bronze and a silver, separated by little sleep
Mike and Amy Parratto cheered their star student before cheering on their daughter — all before swim team practice back home.
July 28, 2021 at 12:14PM
The couple, who both coach at Riptide Swim Club in Apple Valley, had an eventful night of Olympics viewing Monday night. At 8:50 p.m., Regan Smith, whom Mike has coached at Riptide since 2015, won bronze in the women's 100-meter backstroke. The pair of swim coaches watched the rest of the swimming competition after Smith's podium performance and went to bed around 11 p.m., only to wake up again at 12:15 a.m. to watch their daughter, 27-year-old Jessica Parratto, compete in the finals of the women's synchronized 10-meter platform diving event.
Mike's 94-year-old mother, on the other hand, stayed awake on the couch the whole night.
The lack of sleep was worth it, as Jessica and her partner, Delaney Schnell, earned a silver medal. It was Jessica's second Olympic appearance, but the first medal in the event in Team USA history.
"We've been in this business for a really long time," Mike said. "To see that kind of thing happen was just incredible. I don't care if it's 2 in the morning. I'm sitting in front of the TV going, 'Silver medal.'"
The duo's first two dives weren't their strongest, and they sat in seventh place heading into the third of their five dives. The third round is when the difficulty level increases, and Parratto and Schnell's dives kept getting better. Their third dive put them in fourth place, their fourth dive propelled them to second. Their final attempt was their best and secured their history-making silver medal.
Amy Parratto was Jessica's first diving coach and watched the competition with a keen and critical eye. Mike and his mother, however, thought every dive looked pretty good. Mike and his oldest daughter, Melissa, who lives in Pennsylvania, texted throughout with their amateur analysis of each attempt.
The silver medal was the latest in a whirlwind few months for the Parrattos. Melissa got married in April. The family traveled to Olympic trials in Omaha to see both Smith and Jessica qualify for Tokyo. Then, Mike's father died in early July, just before Jessica left for the Games. Through it all, Mike and Amy have been continuing to coach full time.
"It's been an incredible amount of highs and lows," Mike said.
And it isn't over yet. Smith has more swimming to go in Tokyo, and Jessica is an alternate for the individual diving competition and will remain in Tokyo ahead of the event next week. In the meantime, she'll attend Smith's races as a fan.
For Mike and Amy, work continues. After watching his daughter make history, Mike had to coach Riptide's senior elite team in practice at 5:30 a.m.
"Things don't really stop," he said, "Even though we don't want to miss any of the things that are going on."
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