A

Scott Hamilton

1958-

American figure skater

Scott Hamilton has experienced the highs and lows of life—from a debilitating childhood disease, to the glory of an Olympic gold medal, to the devastating diagnosis of cancer. Through it all, he has remained a beloved fixture on the figure-skating circuit, an ambassador for his sport, and an inspiration to people facing health crises.

Born in Toledo, Ohio, Scott Scovell Hamilton was adopted at age six weeks by Ernie and Dorothy Hamilton of Bowling Green, Ohio. The little boy completed the family that included one older daughter and another adopted son, but over time the Hamiltons, both college instructors, began to notice that their toddler was not thriving. A series of tests showed that the child was not absorbing food nutrients, stunting his growth. He was prescribed different diets and treatments, none of which improved his condition. When Scott was eight, doctors handed the Hamiltons the frightening news that the boy had cystic fibrosis; that, like other diagnoses over the years, was incorrect.

Finding His Place in the Rink

Hamilton was finally correctly diagnosed with Schwachmann's Syndrome, a rare condition that paralyzes the intestinal tract and restricts breathing. There was no medical treatment for Schwachmann's apart from a regimen of protein-rich foods and regular exercise. The latter issue was decided when the boy followed his sister, Susan, to an ice rink one day and found his calling. "This frail little kid with the tube running across his cheek turned and said, 'You know, I think I'd like to try skating,'" Ernest Hamilton related to Sports Illustrated reporter Bob Ottum.

Skating seemed to be the catalyst for Hamilton's recovery. Despite his small size, the boy grew in strength and endurance. He played some hockey, but his passion was figure skating. By age thirteen, Hamilton had become a competitive skater, leaving home to train with Olympian Pierre Brunet in Illinois. High-level training and competition, however, was an expensive endeavor; in 1976 Hamilton left the ice, citing the financial burden to his parents. But a year later, Dorothy Hamilton died of cancer; seemingly propelled by her memory, Scott Hamilton returned to figure skating with a drive to succeed. An anonymous couple had staked the young competitor to a sponsorship, and Hamilton trained with Carlo Fassi and Don Laws.

Hamilton's first wide exposure came at the National Figure Skating Championships, where he rose from ninth place in 1977 to third a year later. Hamilton then dominated the Norton Skate Championships (known today as Skate America), wining four years running. Five consecutive Eastern Figure Skating Championships also added to his credentials. After making the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, Hamilton found himself bestowed an unusual honor: "The team had a meeting about who to pick" to bear the U.S. flag in the opening ceremonies, Hamilton told Ottum. "And someone made this emotional pitch for me, pointing out that I had overcome terrible obstacles, sickness and all, and that my mom had died at a crucial point in my career, and that I was the smallest male Olympian there." He was named the flag-bearer that year.

Leaping to Gold

The winter games in Lake Placid saw Hamilton finishing a respectable fifth in the men's individual division. Apparently the skater was just beginning to hit his stride, for following the Olympics Hamilton took fifteen consecutive titles. Though never the biggest man on the ice, Hamilton distinguished himself as one of the boldest, eschewing sequins and spins for utilitarian attire and athletic triple-jumps. "My size is perfect for skating," he said in a New York Times interview with Frank Litsky. "I have a lower center of balance. I don't have as much body to adjust when I make a mistake, and not as much body to get tired."

By 1984, Hamilton was considered the man to beat at the Olympic winter games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia: he had not lost a competition since September 1980, and his credits included four U.S. and world titles. He performed to expectation in the now-abandoned school-figures competition, but Hamilton's uncharacteristic shaky performance in the short program landed the skater in second place, behind Canada's Brian Orser, going into the freestyle long program. Quoted by Time reporter B. J. Phillips as saying he "wasn't into the ice" that day, Hamilton doubled two of his planned triple jumps. Despite the disappointing free skate, however, Hamilton had collected enough points in the school-figures and short programs to secure the gold medal and his place in sports history. As the Time article noted, Hamilton come to Sarajevo with a cold and an ear infection. "Though he refused to blame his curtailed performance on the illness, close observers noticed its effect." But, Phillips added, "nothing was wrong with his theatrical instincts." Hamilton provided an encore to the medals ceremony by skating a victory lap with the American flag held high.

Following Sarajevo Hamilton turned competitive professional, winning such contests as the Nutrasweet/NBC World Professional Figures Skating Championship. He also toured with the Ice Capades and formed the Scott Hamilton Amateur Tour before co-founding the Discover Stars on Ice touring company in 1986. For several years it seemed that no TV figure-skating show was complete without a turn by the gold medalist: A Very Special Christmas, An Olympic Calgary Christmas, Scott Hamilton's Celebration on Ice, A Salute to Dorothy Hamill, Vail Skating Special, A Disney Christmas on Ice, and Nancy Kerrigan & Friends are just a sample of his appearances. And when he wasn't skating, Hamilton was in the announcer's booth, providing expert analysis during televised competition.

Overcoming Another Obstacle

But Hamilton's life would change in 1997. Coming off a performance with his Discover Stars on Ice company, the athlete experienced severe shooting pain in his lower back and abdomen, which he attributed to an ulcer. Doctors discovered a malignant tumor—but even in the face of this diagnosis, Hamilton went on to perform that night. Later it was determined that Hamilton had contracted testicular cancer, a disease that strikes thousands of American men each year. "In the tightly knit world of skaters," wrote a contributor to People, "the news was devastating."

His peers rallied in support of Hamilton through the skater's chemotherapy treatment. "He's always been our big brother, someone to turn to," skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi explained in the People piece. The chemotherapy reduced the tumor to manageable size; in June 1997 surgery removed it along with Hamilton's right testicle. Then, characteristically, he returned to the ice with his typical showmanship plus a new direction in life. Hamilton became an advocate for cancer awareness, particularly among men. "It's all about awareness," he said in a January 2001 online chat transcribed by ABCNews.com. "The more it is discussed, the more you feel like [testicular] cancer is prevalent. The earlier you detect a problem, the better off you are. In any form of cancer—not just this kind."

After pronouncing himself "not 100 [percent] yet, but I will be" in 2001, Hamilton devoted 2002 to personal and professional causes. He had already founded the Scott Hamilton Cancer Alliance for Research, Education and Survivorship (CARES) at the Cleveland [Ohio] Clinic Taussig Cancer Center, where he was treated. In 2002, the skater then launched the web site chemocare.com to help cancer patients understand chemotherapy treatment and its side effects. In December 2002, Hamilton married Tracie Robinson in Malibu, California.

In a 1983 Sports Illustrated article, Bob Ottum summed up Hamilton's appeal. "Where other male and female skaters specialize," he wrote, "Hamilton is the sport's only all-around performer, equally good at athleticism and artistry. Even better, he doesn't look the part.… He looks as if you could hold him up to a strong light and see right through him. But that, too, is pure deception. Somewhere inside him are several miles of tightly drawn sinew and a startling sense of dedication."

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

Newsmakers 1998. Detroit: Gale, 1999.

Periodicals

Litsky, Frank. New York Times (March 7, 1983).

Nolt, Laura Simmons. "Olympic Skaters: Taking Turns for the Better." Saturday Evening Post (March, 1984).

Ottum, Bob. "Great Scott! What A Doubleheader." Sports Illustrated (March 21, 1983).

Phillips, B. J. "A Little Touch of Heaven." Time (February 27, 1984).

Sports Illustrated (March 16, 1981).

Sports Illustrated (February 6, 1984).

Tresniowski, Alex. "Full of Fight." People (April 7, 1997).

Other

"Scott Hamilton" ABCNews.com. http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/hamiltonchat_990128.html (January 21, 2001).

Sketch by Susan Salter