Scott Hamilton

In 1981, Hamilton had his breakthrough figure skating performance in the 1981 U.S. Championships. Following his flawless performance, the crowd gave Hamilton a standing ovation, and he never lost an amateur competition again.

Then, in the 1984 Olympics, Hamilton ended a 24-year Gold Medal drought for US men in Olympic figure skating.

After The Olympics

After his Olympic career, Scott Hamilton became a professional figure skater and founded what would become the world-renowned Stars on Ice. Hamilton also took up figure skating commentary for CBS and then NBC. Then, Scott Hamilton solidified himself as a household name while hosting FOX’s Skating with Celebrities.

Throughout Scott Hamilton’s professional career, he dealt with multiple, highly-publicized diagnoses of cancer.

Following his first cancer diagnosis, Scott Hamilton released his New York Times best-selling auto-biography Landing It: My Life On and Off The Ice.

However, as Hamilton would say, he “has a habit of collecting life-threatening illnesses.” Having been diagnosed with cancer four times to date, he was inspired to turn to activism, founding the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation.

Today, Scott Hamilton shares his story as a professional athlete and cancer survivor through his inspirational speaking. Organizations hire Scott Hamilton to motivate and inspire their leaders to pursue excellence in the face of any obstacle.

Scott Hamilton’s Journey

Scott Hamilton was raised by his adoptive parents in Bowling Green, Ohio. At the age of two, he contracted an illness that stopped his body from growing. The illness eventually subsided on its own, but was never properly diagnosed, and stunted his lifetime growth. Years later, that illness would reveal itself as a congenital brain tumor.

Olympic champion Pierre Brunet began to train Hamilton at the age of thirteen. However, Hamilton’s parents could not afford the cost of Brunet’s lessons. Fortunately, Hamilton’s family was given money from The Pioneer Fund, a philanthropic organization focused on rising figure skaters.

With the training of Pierre Brunet, the generosity of The Pioneer Fund, and the coaching of Don Laws, Scott Hamilton finished third in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, earning him a spot in the 1980 U.S. Olympic team.