PEOPLE KNOWN FOR: skating
American figure skater
Figure skating is sometimes seen as a delicate, ethereal sport, noted for its beautiful costumes, balletic elements, and elegant programs set to classical music. Donât tell American figure skater Alysa...
Figure skatingâs Quadg0d is changing his sport in historic ways
What is undeniable about American figure skater Ilia Malinin is that he has achieved athletic feats in his sport that many thought impossible. He was the first and, as of 2026, the only athlete to land...
American figure skater
Amber Glenn is an American figure skater who won the U.S. national championships in 2024, 2025, and 2026, making her the first woman to claim that title over three consecutive years since Michelle Kwan,...
American figure skater involved in attack on Nancy Kerrigan
Tonya Hardingâs athletic ability made her a two-time national champion; her involvement in a heinous attack on a rival made her possibly the most infamous athlete in American figure skating history. Skating...
American figure skater
Scott Hamilton is an American figure skater who was a four-time world champion and the 1984 Olympic gold medal winner in menâs figure skating. He has been credited with imbuing menâs figure skating with...
American figure skater
Tara Lipinski is an American figure skater who rose to international prominence in the late 1990s and, at the Nagano 1998 Olympic Winter Games, became the youngest female in her sport to win an Olympic...
1992 Olympic figure skating gold medalist
Kristi Yamaguchi, who would become known to America and the world for her ethereal grace and superior athleticism in figure skates, spent the first year of her life in casts and special shoes to correct...
American figure skater
Brian Boitano is an American former figure skater who won multiple U.S. national and world titles as well as an Olympic gold medal. He was also the inventor of the jump called the tano lutz. Boitano later...
Russian figure skater
Yevgeny Plushchenko is a world-champion Russian figure skater and the first athlete to cleanly land the quadruple toeâtriple toeâtriple loop and triple axelâhalf loopâtriple flip combinations in competition....
Japanese figure skater
Hanyu Yuzuru is a Japanese figure skater who at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, became the first Japanese man to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating. He added a second Olympic gold four...
Russian figure skater
Irina Slutskaya is a Russian figure skater who dominated womenâs figure skating in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Although her career was briefly interrupted by health problems, Slutskaya went on to become...
Canadian figure skater
Patrick Chan is a Canadian figure skater who was known for his elegance and artistry and for his ability to land quadruple jumps. He won three Olympic medals, including one gold, as well as three world...
American ice skater and diplomat
Michelle Kwan is an American former figure skater who was one of the most decorated athletes in the sport. Combining artistry and elegance with athleticism, she won more than 40 championships, including...
South Korean figure skater
Kim Yuna is a South Korean figure skater who won a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. (Read Scott Hamiltonâs Britannica entry on figure skating.) Kim began skating at age six and...
Ukrainian figure skater
Oksana Baiul is a Ukrainian figure skater who at age 16 won the Olympic gold medal for womenâs figure skating at the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway. Known as the âSwan of Odessa,â Baiul is one...
German figure skater
Katarina Witt is a German former figure skater who was the first woman to win consecutive Olympic gold medals (1984 and 1988) in singles figure skating since Sonja Henie in 1936. The charismatic Witt defined...
Canadian figure skater
David Pelletier is a Canadian pairs figure skater who, with his partner Jamie Salé, was awarded a gold medal at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, after a judging scandal. The couple shared...
American figure skater
Evan Lysacek is an American former figure skater who won the menâs figure skating gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. (Read Scott Hamiltonâs Britannica entry on figure skating.) Lysacek...
Canadian figure skater
Jamie Salé is a Canadian pairs figure skater who, with her doubles partner David Pelletier, was awarded a gold medal at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, after a judging scandal. They shared...
American figure skater
Peggy Fleming is an American former figure skater who dominated world-level womenâs competition from 1964 through 1968. She won a gold medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. (Read Scott...
American figure skater
Dorothy Hamill is an American former figure skater who won the gold medal for womenâs figure skating in the 1976 Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria. Hamill later worked as a TV commentator. (Read...
Canadian figure skater
Elvis Stojko is a Canadian figure skater whose outstanding jumping ability helped him win three world titles (1994, 1995, and 1997) and two Olympic silver medals (1994 and 1998). By the time he was two...
American figure skater
Tenley Albright is an American figure skater and surgeon who was the first American woman to win the world championships (1953) and an Olympic gold medal in figure skating (1956). She was also the first...
American athlete
Sonja Henie was a Norwegian-born American world champion figure skater and Olympic gold medalist who went on to achieve success as a professional ice-skater and as a motion-picture actress. (Read Scott...
American figure skater
Dick Button was a figure skater who dominated American and international amateur competition in the late 1940s and early 1950s until he became a professional in 1952. He was the only man to win top honors...
British figure skater
John Curry was an English figure skater who redefined the sport with his elegant balletic style. Known as âthe Nureyev of the ice,â he won the gold medal at the 1976 Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria....
Swedish figure skater
Gillis Grafström was a Swedish figure skater who won three Olympic gold medals and one silver medal. Considered one of the best skaters of compulsory figures, he was drawn to the sportâs artistic precision...
Austrian figure skater
Karl SchÀfer was an Austrian figure skater who was the best performer in his sport during the 1930s and was an innovator in the sport as well. He won two successive gold medals in the Winter Olympics of...
Italian-American figure skating coach
Carlo Fassi was an Italian-born figure-skating coach who guided four individual skaters to gold medals in the Winter Olympics. (Read Scott Hamiltonâs Britannica entry on figure skating.) Fassi was the...
Soviet figure skater
Irina Rodnina is a Russian figure skater and politician who, with her partners, first Alexei Ulanov and later Aleksandr Zaytsev, won 10 successive world championships (1969â78) and three successive Olympic...
British ice skater
Madge Cave Syers was an English figure skater who was the first woman to compete at the highest level of international figure skating. At the 1908 Olympic Games in London, she won the first Olympic gold...
British figure skater
Robin Cousins is an English figure skater who combined athletic jumping skills with an exceptional talent for artistic impression to win an Olympic gold medal at the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, New...
Swedish athlete
Ulrich Salchow was a Swedish figure skater who established a record by winning 10 world championships for men (1901â05, 1907â11âhe did not compete in 1906). At the 1908 Games in London, he won the first...
Canadian figure skater
Barbara Ann Scott was a Canadian figure skater who was the first citizen of a country outside Europe to win a world championship in skating (1947). (Read Scott Hamiltonâs Britannica entry on figure skating.)...
American figure skater
Carol Heiss is an American figure skater who from 1956 through 1960 dominated womenâs competition. (Read Scott Hamiltonâs Britannica entry on figure skating.) Heiss began to skate at age six, and she won...
American figure skater
David Jenkins is an American figure skater who won a gold medal at the 1960 Winter Olympic Games in Squaw Valley, Calif. (Read Scott Hamiltonâs Britannica entry on figure skating.) Jenkins and his brother...
American figure skater
Jackson Haines was an American skater known as the father of figure skating. A ballet dancer, he adapted ballet styles and techniques to a sport that had previously comprised a limited number of figures...
Canadian cyclist and speed skater
Clara Hughes is a former cyclist and speed skater who is the only athlete to have won multiple medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympics, with two medals in cycling and four medals in speed skating....
Chinese skater
Yang Yang is a renowned Chinese short-track speed skater who at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, won Chinaâs first-ever Winter Olympic gold medals and was the first short-track speed...
American speed skater
Apolo Ohno is an American former short-track speed skater who is the most-decorated American athlete in the history of the Winter Olympics. In three Games (2002, 2006, and 2010) he accumulated a total...
South Korean-born Russian speed skater
Viktor Ahn is a South Korean-born Russian short-track speed skater who won six Olympic gold medals and six world championships (2003â07 and 2014) to establish himself as one of the top performers in his...
Canadian skater
Cindy Klassen is a Canadian speed skater who captured five medals at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, the most won by a Canadian athlete at a single Olympics. Klassen was attracted to sports at an...
German speed skater
Claudia Pechstein is a German speed skater whose nine Olympic medals (five gold, two silver, and two bronze) made her one of the sportâs most decorated Olympians. (Read Scott Hamiltonâs Britannica essay...
Dutch skater
Sven Kramer is a Dutch speed skater who excelled in long-distance events, most notably the 5,000 and 10,000 metres, and who won four speed-skating Olympic gold medals. Sven, the son of former Olympic speed...
German speed skater
Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann is a German speed skater who dominated the sport throughout the 1990s, capturing eight world championships and eight Olympic medals. She left home for a sports school when she...
American athlete
Shani Davis is an American speed skater who was the first African American athlete to win an individual Winter Olympics gold medal. Davis learned to roller-skate at age two and a year later was skating...
Dutch speed skater
Ireen WĂŒst is a Dutch former speed skater whose 13 Olympic medals, including 6 gold, have made her the most-decorated speed skater in the history of the Games. In addition, her medal total is the most...
Norwegian speed skater
Hjalmar Andersen was a Norwegian speed skater who dominated the longer speed-skating distances in the early 1950s, winning three gold medals at the 1952 Olympic Games in Oslo and setting several world...
American speed skater
Dan Jansen is an American speed skater whose dominance in the sprint races of his sport was overshadowed by his misfortune in the Olympic Winter Games. Jansen grew up in a family of skating enthusiasts...
American speed skater
Jack Shea was an American speed skater who won both the 500- and 1,500-metre races at the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. The two gold medals that Shea earned, along with the two won by Irving Jaffee...
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