Skating career
In 1980, Hamilton finished third in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, earning him a place on the U.S. Olympic team. At this time, Don Laws was coaching him.[10] 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 began a standing ovation several seconds before the end of the performance. He never lost an amateur competition again. In 1981 he won gold in the World Figure Skating Championships.[11] During the long program, he received scores of 5.8s and 5.9s for technical merit and 5.7s at 5.9s for artistic impression out of a perfect score of 6.0. He started the long program off with a triple Lutz jump, his most consistent and hardest jump.[12] He performed a strong program in spite of a minor flub. He won gold again in 1982 and 1983 at the U.S. and World Championships.
At the 1984 Olympics,[13] he won the compulsory figures and placed second in the short program. For the long program, he planned five jumps: a triple Lutz, a triple flip, a triple toe loop in combination with a double loop, a triple toe walley and a triple Salchow. He completed only three of them, missing the triple flip and the triple Salchow.[12] For technical merit, the nine judges gave him three 5.6's, two 5.7's, three 5.8's and a 5.9. For artistic impression, he received four 5.8's and five 5.9's. Brian Orser won the long program and Hamilton was second, but Hamilton won the gold medal because Orser was too far back in the overall standings to catch Hamilton after placing 7th in the compulsory figures, which at the time accounted for 30% of the total score. Hamilton's victory ended a 24-year gold medal drought for US men in Olympic figure skating.[14] He did not attempt the triple Axel jump, a more difficult jump which other skaters in the competition landed.[15] He won that year's World Championships and then turned professional in April 1984.
Figure skating writer and historian Ellyn Kestnbaum, in her critique of male figure skating, called the costumes Hamilton wore during the 1984 Olympics an attempt to mitigate the "erotic affect"[16] of the one-piece, Disco-influenced outfits popular with many male skaters at the time. She described Hamilton's costumes as "simple stretch suits in one color ornamated only by a simple geometic shape in a contasting color", which resembled a warm-up or speed skating suit that emphasized the "acceptable male sport aspect" of figure skating.[16]
After turning professional, Hamilton toured with the 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 15 years before retiring from the tour in 2001 (though he still returns for occasional guest performances).
As a professional, Hamilton often performed his signature backflip, a movement that is sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), the organization that governs figure skating. Kestnbaum states that it was "an acknowledgement of the illegality of the move" to the ISU .[17]
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.
Career in media
Broadcasting career
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".[citation needed] He was also seen in the 2008 The Fairly OddParents episode "The Fairy Oddlympics" as Timmy Turner's co-host.[citation needed]
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.[18]
He made a small appearance on Roseanne as himself, participating in a mock linoleum skating competition credit sequence.[citation needed] He also made a brief appearance in the film Blades of Glory.[citation needed]
On March 8, 2010, Scott Hamilton: Return to the Ice premiered on the Bio Channel. The two-hour television special chronicled Hamilton's return to skating after battling cancer.[19]
Book authorship
In 1999, Hamilton wrote the book Landing It, in which he talks about his life on & off the ice. 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.[citation needed] In 2018, he wrote the book Finish First: Winning Changes Everything (publisher: Thomas Nelson), about the value of competition.[citation needed]