Scott Hamilton (figure skater)

Scott Hamilton

Hamilton performs during a Stars on Ice show, April 2002
Personal information
Country represented	United States
Born	August 28, 1958 (1958-08-28)
Residence	Tennessee
Former coach	Don Laws, Carlo Fassi, Pierre Brunet
Skating club	Philadelphia SC & HS
Retired	1984
Medal record Competitor for United States Men's Figure skating Olympic Games Gold 1984 Sarajevo Men's singles World Championships Gold 1984 Ottawa Men's singles Gold 1983 Helsinki Men's singles Gold 1982 Copenhagen Men's singles Gold 1981 Hartford Men's singles

Olympic medal record
Men's figure skating
Competitor for United States
Gold	1984 Sarajevo	Men's singles

Scott Scovell Hamilton (born August 28, 1958) is an American figure skater and Olympic gold medalist. He won four consecutive U.S. championships (1981–1984), four consecutive World Championships (1981–1984) and a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics. His "signature move" was a backflip, a feat that few other figure skaters could perform. Even though it generally earned him no extra points, he would make sure to include it in his routine in order to please his fans.

Childhood

Hamilton was born in Ohio. He was adopted at the age of six weeks by Dorothy (née McIntosh), a professor and Ernest S. Hamilton, a professor of biology, and raised in Bowling Green, Ohio. He has two siblings, older sister Susan (his parents' biological daughter) and younger brother Steven (who was also adopted). He attended Kenwood Elementary School. When Scott was two years old he contracted a mysterious illness that caused him to stop growing. After numerous tests and several wrong diagnoses (including a diagnosis of cystic fibrosis that gave him just six months to live), the disease began to correct itself. His family physician sent him to Boston Children's hospital to see a Dr. Shwachman. Sources are unable to verify if he was actually diagnosed by Dr. Shwachman as having Shwachman-Diamond syndrome. It is said that a special diet and exercise cured the problem. However, he grew to only 5-foot-2½ and he weighed only 108 pounds during his peak skating years. Scott attended Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

At age 13 he began training with Pierre Brunet, a former Olympic champion. In 1976 however, he was almost forced to quit skating because the cost of training was too high, and he enrolled in college. However, Helen and Frank McLoraine stepped in to provide financial support for Hamilton to continue his training. Hamilton would later work with the McLoraines in continuing philanthropic support for figure skating.

Skating career

In 1980, Hamilton finished third in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, earning him a place on the U.S. Olympic team. He finished in fifth place at the 1980 Winter Olympics, where he also had the honor of carrying the American flag in the opening ceremony. His breakthrough performance was in the 1981 U.S. Championships. He performed flawlessly and the audience was at a standing ovation several seconds before the end of the performance. He never lost a competition again. In 1981 he won gold in the World Figure Skating Championships. He won gold again in 1982 and 1983 at the U.S. and World Championships, and won the gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics. He won that year's World Championships and then turned professional in April 1984.

Hamilton's final performance on the Stars on Ice tour

After turning professional, Hamilton toured with Ice Capades for two years, and then created "Scott Hamilton's American Tour," which later was renamed Stars on Ice. He co-founded, co-produced and performed in Stars on Ice for fifteen years before retiring from the tour in 2001 (though he still returns for occasional guest performances).

He has been awarded numerous skating honors, including being the first solo male figure skater to be awarded the Jacques Favart Award (in 1988). In 1990 he was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.

Hamilton was a skating commentator for CBS television for many years, beginning in 1985. He has also worked for NBC television. In 2006 he was the host of the FOX television program "Skating with Celebrities." He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Special Olympics International.

Television appearances

Hamilton voiced the dog dancing commentator on the King of the Hill episode "Dances with Dogs". He was also seen in The Fairly OddParents episode The Fairy World Games" as Timmy Turner's cohost

He appeared on the August 26, 2008 episode of Wanna Bet?, where he finished 2nd, losing to Bill Engvall. In 2009, he appeared in the second season of Celebrity Apprentice.

He made a small appearance on Roseanne as himself, participating in a mock linoleum skating competition credit sequence.

He also made a brief appearance in "Blades of Glory."

On March 8, 2010, Scott Hamilton: Return to the Ice premiered on the Bio Channel. The two-hour television special chronicled Scott's return to skating after battling cancer.

Results

Event	1976–77	1977–78	1978–79	1979–80	1980–81	1981–82	1982–83	1983–84
Winter Olympics				5th				1st
World Championships		11th		5th	1st	1st	1st	1st
U.S. Championships		3rd	4th	3rd	1st	1st	1st	1st
Skate America				1st		1st	1st
Skate Canada International					1st
NHK Trophy				4th			1st
Nebelhorn Trophy	2nd

Awards

• 1996 - Hamilton was presented with the United States Sports Academy's Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias Courage Award in recognition of his courageous action in overcoming adversity to excel in sport.
• 1996 - Hamilton received the Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award

Personal life

In 1990, as the Make-A-Wish Foundation honored its 10th birthday, Scott Hamilton was recognized as the Foundation's first ever "Celebrity Wish Granter of the Year."

In 1993, the Associated Press released results of a national sports study in which Hamilton ranked as one of the top eight most popular athletes in America, ranking far ahead of big-name sports stars such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Troy Aikman, Dan Marino, Wayne Gretzky, Joe Montana, and Nolan Ryan.

In 1997 Hamilton had a much-publicized battle with testicular cancer. He made a return to skating after his treatment and his story was featured in magazines and on television.

On November 14, 2002, he married Tracie Robinson, a nutritionist. The couple have two sons, Aidan McIntosh Hamilton (born September 13, 2003) and Maxx Hamilton (born January 21, 2008), and a dog named Boogie. The family resides in Franklin, Tennessee. They are members of the Church of Christ.

It was announced on November 12, 2004, that Hamilton had a benign brain tumor, which was treated at the Cleveland Clinic. He has also helped benefit St. Jude's Children's Hospital and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation where he is an honorary board member.

In August 1st, 2008, he appeared in "The Fairly Oddlympics", an episode of "The Fairly OddParents"

In 2009, Hamilton wrote the book, The Great Eight, which shared the secrets to his happiness and how he overcame numerous challenges and disappointments throughout his life.

On June 23, 2010, Hamilton went into brain surgery to prevent the recurrence of the benign tumor discovered in 2004. Called craniopharyngioma, the tumor could have caused blindness if left untreated. On June 25, 2010 it was reported that Hamilton was resting comfortably in the hospital and was "Doing great"

In November 2010 Scott was in the hospital again, reported "People Magazine". Apparently in the removal of the benign tumor in June, an artery in the brain was "nicked". They stopped the bleeding but an aneurysm formed days later. Scott came through the surgery well, reported the article.

Further reading

• Hamilton, Scott; Ken Baker (2008). The Great Eight: How to Be Happy (Even When You Have Every Reason to Be Miserable). Thomas Nelson. ISBN 9780785228943. 
• Hamilton, Scott; Lorenzo Benet (1999). Landing It: My Life On and Off the Ice. Kensington Books. ISBN 1575664666. 

External links

• Scott Hamilton at the Internet Movie Database
• NBCOlympics.com Bio
• Scott Hamilton's U.S. Olympic Team bio with photo gallery