Scott Hamilton has been the world's most celebrated figure skater since 1981, when he won the first of eight consecutive national and world titles. The Olympic Gold Medal he won in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia in 1984 was the first won by an American since 1960. It's an amateur and professional career without peer and a skating repertoire which includes extraordinary speed, footwork and virtuoso stunts, among them a back flip and a battery of triple jumps that have thrilled spectators and judges the world over.

His personal fight with disease is a continuing story and one of the most inspiring in the history of sports. It's a remarkable story of courage and determination that make him a champion in the truest sense of the word.

Six weeks after his birth on August 28, 1958, Scott was adopted by Ernest and Dorothy Hamilton, both professors at Bowling Green University. When Scott was about two, he contracted a mysterious illness that caused him to stop growing. For the next six years, doctors prescribed a variety of unsuccessful treatments. After his illness was mistakenly diagnosed as cystic fibrosis and he was given six months to live, the Hamiltons took their son to Boston's Children's Hospital where his ailment began to correct itself by special diet and moderate exercise. Soon he felt well enough to watch his older sister Susan on an ice skating outing and decided to try skating. From the beginning, Scott skated with great confidence and uncommon speed. He began taking formal lessons, joined a hockey team and within a year, his illness disappeared and be began growing again, although he would always be considerably smaller than his peers. His miraculous recovery was attributed to the effects of intense physical activity in the cold atmosphere of the rink.

At thirteen he began training with Pierre Brunet, a former Olympic Gold Medalist and despite steady progress, abruptly quit competitive skating in 1976 to enroll at Bowling Green.

Finances to fund his training had become an issue. But before he began classes, an anonymous couple who had supported other Olympic hopefuls volunteered to sponsor him and he immediately resumed training.

Over the next several years, his continued dedication paid off. By 1980 he was good enough to capture third place in national competition and win a berth on the U.S. Olympic squad. In addition, he earned a solid fifth-place finish at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid. Then in March of 1981, Scott's dazzling free-skating program at the World Championships enabled him to overtake fellow countryman David Santee and Igor Bobrin of the Soviet Union to win the title, only the second American to do so since 1970. Later the same year, he took an individual Gold Medal at the first Skate America tournament and was voted Male Athlete of the Year by the United States Olympic Committee.

Scott held on to his national and world titles in 1982 and 1983. As the winner of 16 consecutive championships after the 1980 Winter Olympics, he was heavily favored to take the Gold Medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo and that is precisely what he did.

A month later, he went on to score a stunning victory at the World Championships in Ottawa, Canada. Shortly thereafter, in April of 1984, Scott turned professional after being inundated with lucrative contracts from the major ice shows; the Ice Capades secured his superstar talents for two years.

Lithe and muscular, Scott stands five feet three and one-half inches tall and weighs 115 pounds. His sense of humor and friendly easygoing manner have made him the most popular figure skating star in decades. In September of 1987, his popularity, both professionally and personally, once more garnered the respect and attention of the United States Olympic Committee by being nominated for the first "Olympic Spirit Award" given for the 1984 Winter Games.

The award, which has become tradition, was voted on by Olympic Committee members and over 1,900 members of the American press. Scott won the prestigious honor by a landslide.

Still an active competitor, his skills continue to capture top professional titles. Audiences and judges easily agree that there is no competition when it comes to Scott's natural showmanship on the ice.

Since 1986, audiences have seen Scott perform in his own Scott Hamilton's America Tour, with U.S. symphony orchestras, and yearly national touring seasons of Discover Stars On Ice, the latter for which he now serves as co-producer. He has also toured the country in the proscenium theater production of Festival on Ice highlighted by a two week engagement at the Opera House of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. and multiple headlining appearances at Harrah's Hotel in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Additionally, he is a frequent celebrity guest player on television game shows, and he guest-stars on a variety of yearly network and cable television specials. In March of 1988, Hamilton received perhaps the second most important award in his career from the International Skating Union.

This institutional governing body of all world amateur competitions presented him with their highest recognition of merit, the Jacques Favart Award. A most prestigious honor, it has been bestowed upon only four other Olympic athletes in history; Scott is the only solo male figure skater. Past recipients include speedskater Eric Heiden, pair skater Irena Rodnina and the ice dancing team of Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean. As a producer (aside from his ongoing responsibilities with Discover Stars On Ice), Scott has twice produced major theatrical proscenium ice shows for Sea World in San Diego, California.

The initial production, "Celebration On Ice," became a first for the 25-year old landmark. The second show, "Time Traveler: An Odyssey On Ice" (1989), surpassed all Sea World expectations, playing to nearly a million people in a three month period.

Scott made his "musical comedy and acting" debut in 1989 as star of Broadway On Ice. First presented at Harrah's Lake Tahoe, the show then toured the United States with Scott receiving great critical acclaim for his versatility beyond skating. Setting a precedent as the first star in ice skating history to combine skating, acting, singing and dancing in one production, a new dimension was added to his already illustrious career.

In July of 1990, Mr. Hamilton received the honor of being inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame. He is distinguished in the induction by being the only Olympic athlete from any Winter Olympic games played since 1924 to become a 1990 Olympic Hall of Fame class member and one of under 100 Olympic athletes honored to date. Later that year he became a privileged member of the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame. In addition, his career was selected to be published in the 1990 edition of Marquis' "Who's Who In America." In 1992, Marquis additionally began publishing his biography in "Who's Who in Entertainment".

Hamilton continues to enjoy a long association with the CBS Television Network, as one of their most colorful and articulate sports analysts. His coverage of the figure skating competition at the 1992 Olympic Games in Albertville, France was heralded as an incisive, exuberant and refreshing change in broadcast commentators. Scott reprised his on-air responsibilities at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. Early in 1997, he headlined his first television special, 'SCOTT HAMILTON: UPSIDE DOWN' which received an Emmy Award for choreography. His official comeback, recorded for broadcast in October, 1997 by CBS-TV, was entitled 'SCOTT HAMILTON: BACK ON ICE.

When he is not performing, competing, exhibiting, conducting skating clinics or participating in a wide variety of charitable events, including Athletes Against Drugs, Pediatric AIDS, Children's Hospitals and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Scott enjoys his time at home in Denver, Colorado.

What Is Your Greatest Extravagance?: "Golf … very expensive sport. I also like Porsches."

What Is Your Motto?: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Person I Would Most Like to Meet: Bruce Springsteen.

Favorite Actor: Burt Lancaster

Favorite Actress: Katherine Hepburn

Favorite Comedian: Robin Williams

Favorite Books: Anything by Tom Clancy, 'The Bourne Identity' by Robert Ludlum.

Favorite Movies: 'Arthur,' 'The Crimson Pirate,' 'Caddyshack,' 'Blazing Saddles,' 'Young Frankenstein,' and any really bad martial arts movie.

Favorite Dinner: "I like anything that isn't over-flavored that is made with fresh ingredients and that I don't have to clean up after."

Accomplishment I Am Most Proud Of: "Longevity."

Other Occupation/Sport You Would Have Pursued: "Pretty much anything individual. Golf, Gymnastics, Karate."

Best or Worst Advice Your Parents Gave You: "My parents were both very open minded people. We were allowed to pursue whatever we wished and that is the greatest gift a parent can give."

How Do You Prepare For A Show: "Drink some coffee, stretch a little and laugh a lot."

Most Memorable Skating Achievement: "All the firsts. First Olympics, first National title, first World title, the Olympic Gold Medal."