If Scott Hamilton were a gambling man, he'd never have bet on himself.
"I'm the most unlikely person on the planet to have experienced any of this," he says. The list of his accomplishments is remarkable: winning the first men's figure skating gold medal in 24 years at the 1984 Winter Games, starting the hugely successful Stars on Ice figure skating tour, surviving four bouts of cancer, founding a cancer charity that's touched countless lives. Then, of course, there's falling in love with his wife, Tracie, and becoming a dad of four. He grins.
"It's all been kind of miraculous, really." Hamilton, 65, who this month is celebrating the 40th anniversary of his gold-medal Olympic moment, is being modest, but he's not wrong about the series of unfortunate events that have shaped his life's course. Adopted as a baby by Ernest and Dorothy Hamilton and raised in Bowling Green, Ohio, he suddenly stopped growing at the age of 4. Doctors were unable to figure out why (years later Hamilton would learn that an undetected brain tumor was likely to blame), and the condition
took its toll on everyone. "My parents were shattered, just exhausted emotionally, financially," says Hamilton, who required a feeding tube as a child to ensure he was getting enough nutrition.
This story is from the March 04, 2024 edition of People US.
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This story is from the March 04, 2024 edition of People US.
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