Dorothy Hamill

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

Dorothy Hamill (born July 26, 1956, Chicago, Illinois) is an American figure skater and 1976 Olympic champion.

Hamill was born in Chicago, but her family moved to Greenwich, Connecticut shortly after where she spent the rest of her childhood. She has a brother and a sister.

Hamill started ice skating when she was eight years old on her grandparent's backyard pond. Her skates were too big, so her grandmother would put stuffing in the toes to make them fit. She asked her mother if she could have lessons so she could learn to skate backwards. Her mother said yes.

Hamill was U.S. champion from 1974 through 1976. She is credited with developing a new skating move; a camel spin that turns into a sit spin, which became known as the "Hamill camel." The bobbed hairstyle that she wore during her Olympic performance started a fad. A Dorothy Hamill doll was made in 1977.

Hamill made her big breakthrough at the 1974 World Championships in Munich, Germany. She was in 3rd place after the compulsory figures and the short program. She was set to skate directly after the German skater whose marks were mercilessly booed while Hamill was already on the ice. Visibly upset, she left the ice and burst into tears. After the crowd settled down, she returned to the ice and skated a perfect and inspiring program; almost winning the gold medal, but capturing silver behind Christine Errath of East Germany.

Hamill won silver again at the World Championships in 1975 at Colorado Springs, Colorado behind Dianne de Leeuw of the Netherlands but ahead of Errath. In 1976, Hamill switched boots to skate the compulsory figures better (she had been wearing special boots created by Carlo Fassi that did not seem to be helping her). At the Olympics, Hamill came in second in the figures and then won the short and long programs, taking the gold medal ahead of de Leeuw and Errath who came in second and third, respectively. She also won the world championships that year and then turned professional.

Hamill was an Ice Capades headliner from 1977-1984; she bought the financially-strapped company in 1993 but sold it to Pat Robertson's International Family Entertainment, Inc. soon after.

Hamill went on to write a book, On and Off the Ice. She was married and divorced twice: to the late Dean Paul Martin (1982 - 1984), and then to Kenneth Forsythe (1987 - 1995), with whom she had a daughter named Alexandra. Dorothy and her daughter reside in suburban Baltimore, where she occasionally conducts figure skating classes. She was a judge on the 2006 Fox television show Skating With Celebrities.

Hamill continues to skate in shows, and when asked when she'll stop skating, says "never".

[edit] Records and achievements

[edit] Amateur

• Olympic Champion (1976).
• World Champion (1976).
• Three-time United States National Champion (1974-1976).
• Invented the Hamill camel, a camel spin followed by a sit spin.

[edit] Professional

• World Professional Champion (1983-1987).

[edit] Awards

• Inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame (1991).
• Inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame (2000).

[edit] Quotes

• "I wasn't particularly athletic or gifted, but I loved it. I'd be at the skating rink all day long, just skating around and around. I could be all alone and nobody could get near me and I didn't have to talk to anybody. I was in my fantasy world."
• "I worked as hard as I could. I was always the first one on the ice and the last one off."

[edit] External links

• Dorothy's U.S. Olympic Team bio ... with notes, quotes, photos
• Academy of Achievement Profile http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/ham1pro-1
• Academy of Achievement Biography http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/ham1bio-1
• Academy of Achievement Interview http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/ham1int-1
• Academy of Achievement Photo Gallery http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/ham1gal-1
• ESPN Classics - Dorothy Hamill's win in Innsbruck plus trivia
• Dorothy Hamill at the Notable Names Database
• Dorothy Hamill at the Internet Movie Database

[edit] Navigation