Scott Hamilton Reveals Why He Stopped Ice Skating — And It's Not For the Reason You'd Think (Exclusive)
- - Scott Hamilton Reveals Why He Stopped Ice Skating — And It's Not For the Reason You'd Think (Exclusive)
Gillian TellingNovember 10, 2025 at 2:00 AM
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John A. Russell
Ice skating legend Scott Hamilton -
Scott Hamilton reveals why he decided to hang up his ice skates
He also talks about heading to Milan for next year's Winter Olympics as a broadcaster
On Nov. 23, he'll also host his annual Scott Hamilton and Friends fundraiser for cancer research
Scott Hamilton, the legendary ice skater who won the United States' very first Olympics gold medal for men's figure skating back in 1984, says he no longer gets on the ice.
Is it because he's sacred of slipping and breaking a hip? His ankles could give way?
None of the above.
"See, when you get to be a certain age...I'm 67 now, and nobody, NOBODY — I say that in all caps — wants to see a 67-year-old man in spandex. No one," he tells PEOPLE with a laugh.
While he may no longer do triple-axels while donning tight suits and sequins, he is still very much involved in the world of skating.
Next February, Hamilton will be in Milan for the 2026 Winter Olympics, bringing his signature exuberance and joy to the broadcasting booth, and on Nov. 23, he's putting on his annual Scott Hamilton and Friends fundraiser, which brings music and ice skating together to raise money for his CARES Foundation.
John A. Russell
Scott Hamilton
Figure skaters rocking the rink this year will include Olympians Jeremy Abbott, Nathan Chen, Keegan Messing, Mariah Bell, Polina Edmunds and Sinead Kerr Marshall with partner John Kerr, alongside viral sensation Elladj Baldé and Maxim Naumov.
"We also have lead singers from Loverboy, Chicago, Journey, Kansas and REO Speedwagon," he says of this year's musical performers, all of whom are joining to form one superband for the night.
"Back in the day, I would've killed to get a backstage pass to see or meet or to be in the same proximity as these guys, and now I'm producing them at my show. It's like, 'Are you kidding me?!' "
Hamilton's CARES Foundation partners with cancer research centers that focus on cures that don't leave lasting harm to the patient — a mission close to Hamilton's heart, after he recovered from prostate cancer in 1997.
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Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo
Scott Hamilton is held aloft by fellow skater Denis Petrov during a performance in the final event of Hamilton's touring career during a Stars on Ice show at the Cumberland County Civic Center, Saturday, April 7, 2001, in Portland, Maine. Hamilton, 42, won an Olympic gold medal in 1984.
"For so long, chemotherapy, traditional radiation, all the surgeries that have traditionally been used, they create harm in the patient. We like to partner with like-minded organizations to elevate specific cancer research — immunotherapy, targeted therapy, proton therapy — anything that will treat the cancer and spare the patient harm," Hamilton explains.
Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation
Scott Hamilton and Friends Benefit
He says everything he's seen throughout his years as a fundaiser and activist gives him a positive outlook when it comes to the future of cancer treatments.
"Everything I’ve learned, everything I’ve seen, everything I’ve witnessed, everything that I believe to be true says that there’ll be a time, probably in my lifetime — and I’m 67, so it’s not like I’ve got decades and decades left — is that there will be a day where no one dies of cancer."
on People
Source: “AOL Sports”
