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Dorothy Hamill: Skating
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Figure skater Dorothy Hamill captivated the world when she won a gold medal as a 19-year-old at the 1976 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria, and later went on to earn the World Championship title in Gothenburg, Sweden. She has worked for years with such charities as the International Special Olympics and March of Dimes.
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Nearly 25 years ago, Dorothy Hamill and Bruce Jenner used extraordinary strength and determination to outperform world-class competitors and become champions. Now, the pair is facing the challenge of the most common form of arthritis -- osteoarthritis -- and will travel nationwide to honor everyday osteoarthritis champions who are taking control over their pain.
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Hamill was the 1976 National, World and Olympic champion. There was no more left for her to conquer in the amateur world of skating, so she moved on. Hamill signed a $1 million - a - year contract with the Ice Capades, becoming the first female athlete to earn that much in a contract. She had other offers as well; the Ideal Toy Company produced a doll in her likeness. Hamill was one of the first female athletes to earn money through endorsement deals.
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The U.S. champion from 1974 through 1976, Hamill developed a new move, a 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 brief fad. Mostly everyone loved it.
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Hamill spent the summer of 1967 at Lake Placid again, this time training with Swiss coach Gustave Lussi, coach to 1948 Olympic gold medalist Dick Button. Lussi was the first coach Hamill developed a complete trust in and this was reflected in her progress. She mastered complicated footwork that had troubled her before. Under his direction, Hamill attempted her first double axel. It is one of the most demanding double jumps because the skater must complete two - and - a - half revolutions in the air. After watching her fail again and again, Lussi offered Hamill one of the most valuable lessons of her career.
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Hamill is involved with charity work for a number of organizations, including the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the International Special Olympics, Big Brothers and Sisters and the American Cancer Society. Additionally, she works with a March of Dimes program that helps blind children learn to skate.
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