Scott Hamilton
Scott Hamilton
Scott Scovell Hamiltonis a retired American figure skater and Olympic gold medalist. He won four consecutive U.S. championships, four consecutive World Championshipsand a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics. His signature move is a backflip, a feat that few other figure skaters could perform and is against USFSA and Olympic competition rules, but which he would include in his exhibition routines to please the crowd...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionFigure Skater
Date of Birth28 August 1958
CityToledo, OH
CountryUnited States of America
And so figure skating was a great vehicle for me to kind of be competitive at something, without having to be big.
But I never really thought that I would be extraordinarily successful at skating, it's just something that happened, you know.
I'm very accessible. I don't get into this ego thing.
When you turn professional, you become an entertainer, and like every other entertainer, you don't want to get a bad review.
Rationality is not one of this industry's attributes.
The Olympics in '80 was phenomenal. It was my favorite memory of all competitive events, because it was brand new and it was exciting.
A bad attitude is the only true handicap.
Always try to maintain complete tolerance and always make an effort to give people more then they expect.
Each movement is only learned after you've perfected the one before it.
Refined indifference is a sports psychology precept: train like there's no tomorrow and then accept whatever happens. Once you step on the field realize that whatever is meant to be is meant to be.
When you're expected to win and you have the press saying that you are going to win the Olympic gold medal, and you're the only sure thing in the Olympics, it can undermine your confidence.
That's what makes the Ryder Cup in golf so much better than the Masters or the U.S. Open. To be a part of something that is not about personal achievement, but about representing everyone and sharing it with the whole country, it's wonderful.
So as an amateur Olympic competitor I loved criticism, because it made me better. But now as a professional I don't really know how to channel it or where to take it, so I don't take it quite as well.
Fame is a very confusing thing, because you are recognized by a lot of people that you've never seen before, and they're at a great advantage.