Scott Hamilton

I started skating and I kind of liked it because I could run circles around the guys that wouldn't pick me to play baseball. "We don't want him. He's too short. He can't hit the ball over second base." But I could skate circles around them. And I ended up playing hockey just out of peer pressure. I didn't want to be the sissy figure skater, you know. So I played hockey for three years and I did quite well. It's just a big man's sport, you know, and I really was undersized. So, figure skating was a great vehicle for me to kind of be competitive at something without having to be big.

Scott Scovell Hamilton 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 the .

Latest News

• On March 18, 2008, Scott Hamilton announces return to Ice Skating .
• Scott Hamilton was the second competitor fired from the U.S. reality series "The Celebrity Apprentice" this season .

Videos

Scott Hamilton: Hat Trick	1997 Scott Hamilton & Kurt Browning Upside Down & Move It
1999 Improv on Ice Kurt Browning Meditation from Thais	1981 Scott Hamilton Worlds

Quotes

The most important thing for my skating was the commitment I made after my mother passed away. She had done so many things for me throughout her life.

Childhood

Scott Hamilton & his wife

Hamilton was at the age of six weeks by Ernest S. Hamilton and Dorothy McIntosh of . He has two siblings, older sister Susan and younger brother Steven (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 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 . 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.

At age 13 he began training with , 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.

Skating career

In 1980 Hamilton finished third in the , earning him a place on the U.S. Olympic team. He finished in fifth place at the , 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 . He won gold again in 1982 and 1983 at the U.S. and World Championships, and won the gold medal at the . He won that year's World Championships and then turned professional in April 1984.

He has been awarded numerous skating honors, including being the first solo male figure skater to be awarded the (in 1988). In 1990 he was inducted into the .

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

Television Appearances

Scott Hamilton was featured in ' Olympic special as a host for the Fairy Olympics and voiced the dog dancing commentator on the episode "Dances with Dogs".

He appeared on the August 26, 2008 episode of , where he finished 2nd, losing to . In 2009, he will appear in the second season of . Throughout the season, each celebrity will be raising money for a charity of their choice; Hamilton has selected the Clinic.

Competitive highlights

Event/Season	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984
	-	-	5th	-	-	-	1st
	11th	-	5th	1st	1st	1st	1st
	3rd	4th	3rd	1st	1st	1st	1st

Personal

In 1990, as the honored its 10th birthday, Scott Hamilton was recognized as the Foundation's first ever "Celebrity Wish Granter of the Year." In 1997 Hamilton had a much-publicized battle with . He made a return to skating after his treatment and his story was featured in magazines and on television. It was announced on that Hamilton had a benign brain tumor, which was treated at the . He has also helped to benefit and the where he is a honorary board member.

On he married Tracie Robinson, a nutritionist. The couple have two sons, Aidan McIntosh Hamilton (born in 2003) and Maxx Hamilton (born in 2008). The family resides in .

External links

• NBCOlympics.com Bio
• Scott Hamilton's U.S. Olympic Team bio with photo gallery