Former U.S. Olympic Figure Skaters You Wouldn't Recognize Today

Figure skating has long been one of the most popular spectator sports, as it blends elements of dance, technique, and athleticism — of course, these athletes just happen to be on ice. The sport combines gravity-defying jumps, lightning-fast spins, intricate footwork, and even storytelling. The athletes are judged on both precision and difficulty, with artistry and musicality of a given routine also taken into consideration. Figure skating was added to the Olympics in 1908, with the sport making its debut in London during the summer Games. In 1924, the sport was moved to the Winter Games, where competitions have been held ever since.

Over the years, there have been some incredible on-ice performances by iconic figure skaters like Tara Lipinski, Michelle Kwan, and Scott Hamilton. Many people likely recall watching some impressive routines and becoming fans of some of these athletes in the '80s and '90s, when figure skating seemed to be at its peak. In taking a look back at some of the most well known figure skaters of years past, many have moved on from the sport while others are still plugged in. Nevertheless, the people on this list are barely recognizable today.

Johnny Weir started ice skating at age 12, after his family gifted him a pair of skates and lessons for Christmas. "I got an Axel after one week of those lessons, so I had to quit equestrian for skating," Weir shared (per Golden Skate). During his first year on skates, Weir qualified for the Junior Olympics. He first competed in the Olympics at the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy, finishing fifth overall. He competed again in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, finishing sixth. Although he didn't reach the podium in the Olympics, he won other medals in various competitions throughout his career before he retired from figure skating in October 2013.

Weir has since broken into the entertainment world, specifically by way of broadcasting and reality television. Upon announcing his decision to retire, Weir became an analyst, inking a deal with NBC to cover the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. In 2020, he joined the cast of "Dancing With the Stars," finishing in sixth place alongside his pro partner, Britt Stewart. Weir is also best friends with fellow former ice skater Tara Lipinski, and the two have linked up as fashion analysts and correspondents for a variety of events, including the Kentucky Derby. In 2025, Weir and Lipinski were confirmed to be taking part in the fourth season of "The Traitors."

Brian Boitano hails from California and broke into the ice skating scene when he was a teenager. In the early '80s, he qualified for the Olympics and competed in his first Games in 1984 in Sarajevo, where he finished in fifth place. However, Boitano was back four years later with a vengeance, and he participated in the Olympics in Calgary, winning a gold medal in men's singles. Boitano returned to the Olympic stage in 1994, competing in Norway, but he didn't make the podium. After this Olympic outing, Boitano unofficially retired, at least from competing. In the years that followed, he went on tour and performed all over the globe.

In September 2019, Boitano opened Boitano's Lounge in the Kindler Hotel in Lincoln, Nebraska. "I think that you have a reservoir of lifetime energy," Boitano told USA Today in an interview published in December 2021. "And I feel like I spent probably 50 years of that focus in one night. That's what ingrained that moment in my brain. I remember that I didn't dream for years after that, and I was always a vivid dreamer," he added. 

Although Boitano has shifted gears, he's still very connected to the figure skating circuit. In January 2026, he confirmed his presence at the 2026 Winter Games in Italy as a correspondent, hosting the USA Today podcast covering the Games.

Scott Hamilton got into ice skating at age 9, despite a variety of childhood illnesses. In 1980, he qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team. He competed in the Lake Placid Olympics, where he finished in fifth place. He returned to the Olympic stage in 1984, where he earned himself a gold medal in men's singles figure skating in Sarajevo. He retired from competing after this pinnacle career moment, though he continued skating and performing. 

Hamilton has had his fair share of health issues, including testicular cancer, which he successfully treated and beat. In the years that followed, however, Hamilton was diagnosed with multiple benign pituitary brain tumors — one in 2004, another in 2010, and a third in 2016. After undergoing surgery for the first two tumors, Hamilton decided not to treat the third. "When they gave me the diagnosis, they said, 'it's back,'" he told People in 2024. When asked what he wanted to do, Hamilton replied, "I think I'm going to go home and get strong," opting out of a third brain surgery. 

In 2014, he founded the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to "fund innovative, patient-centered, targeted treatments that fight cancer while preserving quality of life." Additionally, Hamilton is still tied to the figure skating circuit, though he no longer competes. In October 2025, Hamilton took to Instagram to announce that he'll be covering the 2026 Winter Games in Italy alongside Mike Tirico on NBC.

Rosalynn Sumners was raised in Edmonds, Washington, and began skating when she was 7 years old. Starting in 1982, Sumners won three consecutive U.S. National Championships (as well as one world championship in 1983) before qualifying for the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. She'd take home her first medal — silver — at the Games, and then swiftly moved from competing to performing, joining Disney on Ice as part of its "Stars on Ice" tour. She retired from ice skating in 1999 and completely changed the course of her life from that point forward.

Sumners fell in love with the variety of aspects of home building and decor and started getting involved with interior design in her post-Olympics years. "I look at this little girl out there, and now I am so removed," Sumners told The Seattle Times in 2018. "I watched it, and there were things that I forgot. And I can't believe I did all that," she admitted. These days, Sumners lives a quiet, private life out of the spotlight alongside her husband, Bob Kain, whom she married in 2004.

Tonya Harding is often remembered for an incident in which her now-ex-husband Jeff Gillooly hired someone to attack fellow figure skater Nancy Kerrigan back in 1994. Kerrigan was forced to withdraw from the Olympics after she was hit in the leg with a club, effectively eliminating her chances to qualify for the upcoming Olympic Games. Harding did, however, compete and she made the U.S. team. She ended up telling the authorities that she found about the planned attack, but didn't come forward with the information. Thankfully, Kerrigan's injuries were not career ending and she ended up making the U.S. team as well. And so, the two women headed to Norway to compete, but Harding ended up finishing in eighth place while Kerrigan earned a silver medal. Harding didn't make the podium two years earlier at the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, either, leaving her without any Olympic medals. Harding was officially banned from the sport in June 1994 — and she was stripped of all the medals she'd won throughout her career, as The New York Times reported that year.

After her career ended, Harding took part in some other opportunities, including a celebrity boxing match and a stint on "Dancing With the Stars." In 2017, the film "I, Tonya," starring Margot Robbie as Harding and Hayley Heinz as Kerrigan, was released, telling the disgraced skater's story from a different perspective. It was around this time that Harding started speaking out.

"My family and I are doing good," she told People magazine in January 2024. "For the past year I have been working as a custodian for two businesses that are part of one corporation," she added. In January 2025, Harding joined X for the first time. "I'm very excited to reconnect with you all," read part of her first message on the platform.

Caitlin "Kitty" Carruthers and Peter Carruthers are adopted siblings who competed as a pair throughout their figure skating careers. They competed together in the Winter Games in Lake Placid in 1980, finishing in fifth place. After honing their skills, the duo returned to the Olympic Games in 1984, where they won their first and only Olympic medal — a shiny silver — in Sarajevo. The brother and sister decided to step away from the competition world after that, turning to performing. "The '84 (medal) was our dream come true," Kitty told the Los Angeles Times in 1992. "I don't think we can top that emotionally," she added. In 1999, the pair was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

Meanwhile, Kitty met her husband, Brett Conrad, when she was in Ice Capades, and the two started a family together in Texas. Both she and her brother live fairly private lives — though Peter has worked as a skating analyst on television in the past.

In March 2025, the Carruthers siblings appeared together for a special tribute event in Washington D.C. alongside other well-known figure skaters, like Scott Hamilton, Nancy Kerrigan, and Nathan Chen. Kitty and Peter received a warm round of applause from the audience as they spoke about their time competing together. 

Nicole Bobek garnered attention when she won her first-ever national championship at the age of 17. "It was very nerve-racking," Bobek recalled in an interview with Figure Skating Online in August 2025. "That Nationals, in particular, I really wasn't set to win. My focus was to make the world team, and that is what I set out to do, and I won, and it was very unexpected. It was amazing, your life just changes in those moments," she continued. In 1998, she competed in her first Olympic Games, representing Team USA in Nagano, Japan. Despite her incredible talent, Bobek didn't medal, finishing the competition in 17th place. But she loved ice skating and loved performing, so she continued to do so, touring with Champions on Ice through 2004. Her life off the ice, however, was not always easy, as she later struggled with a drug addiction.

These days, Bobek lives in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, with her son, and she's still involved in figure skating — but this time as a coach. "I work with anybody who wants to enhance their skating a little bit" Bobek told Figure Skating Online. In October 2025, she released her memoir, "Bobek, The Wild One." In a candid Instagram post announcing her new book, Bobek wrote, "I pray that this book will be a guide for so many. it is nothing but my raw authentic self. I want to thank my amazing team who never stopped believing in me."

In 1968, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner were 8 and 10 years old, respectively, when they were paired together by ice skating coach Mabel Fairbanks. Their talents were undeniable and they quickly became an iconic duo, winning medals at various competitions, including the U.S. Championships in 1974 and 1975. The following year, the two were off to Innsbruck, Austria, where they would compete in the Olympic Games. Babilonia and Gardner didn't medal but were determined to keep practicing and competing. By 1980, the pair was off to Lake Placid and ready to show off their talents on the world's biggest stage once more. Their dreams were cut short, however, when Gardner suffered an injury and the two were forced to withdraw. It didn't take long for them to make the decision to turn professional and they performed in Ice Capades and with Champions on Ice before retiring in 2008.

Flash forward, and Babilonia and Gardner are still great friends. In 2025, Babilonia shared that she'd begun working on a biopic film about Fairbanks. "Because of her color she was not able to compete, and she had to create her own venues and skating shows to make a living," Babilonia said of Fairbanks, who died in 2001, in a 2025 interview with Figure Skating Online. As for Gardner, he has his own projects underway. Since coming out as gay in 2006, he's been looking forward to joining forces with Pride House LA ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games. "It's a place where the LGBTQ+ can meet and gather in a physical space for athletes, coaches and allies. I am doing that at benefits with different charities. I am an ambassador for that. I want to get some people beginning to skate with some clinics and such, as well," he told Figure Skating Online.

Nancy Kerrigan is easily one of the most recognizable names in figure skating. She started ice skating when she was just 6 years old, quickly falling in love with the sport. She soon began lessons and eventually entered competitions. Kerrigan first qualified for the Olympics in the early '90s, heading to Albertville, France, in 1992 to put her skills on display for Team USA. She ended up taking home a bronze medal — and had hopes of returning one day. Two years later, Kerrigan competed in Lillehammer (after she was nearly forced to withdraw following the famous drama involving Tonya Harding), this time earning a silver medal. Kerrigan was inducted into the Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2004 and has served as a correspondent for various competitions in the years since.

In the years since, Kerrigan has opened up about her personal life, sharing that she'd suffered six miscarriages while trying to grow her family. "It was pretty awful. You feel guilty. Like, what did you do wrong? It makes you feel like a failure," she said in 2017 (via Today). Kerrigan has welcomed three children, however, and her focus has been on being a mom. "My job is being with my kids after school and asking them how their day was," she previously told People magazine.

In December 2023, Kerrigan released her first children's book titled "Stronger Than She Thinks." In January 2026, Kerrigan posted a couple of videos on Instagram for her partnership with Saatva while she attended the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Michelle Kwan is a household name when it comes to figure skating. She first competed for Team USA in the Olympics in Nagano, Japan, in 1998, taking home a silver medal following some impressive routines. Kwan returned to the big stage in 2002, competing in women's singles in Salt Lake City, Utah, and earning a bronze medal. In 2009, she switched gears when she enrolled at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Two years later, she earned a graduate degree in international relations. Over the next several years, Kwan put her degree to good use, even serving as an adviser to the U.S.-China Women's Leadership Exchange and Dialogue in 2012. In 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Kwan to be U.S. Ambassador to Belize, and she was confirmed for the role by the Senate in September of that year. She wrapped up the role in early 2025.

As for what really happened to Michelle Kwan, she has fully embraced her role as a mom after welcoming two daughters, Kalista and Della. Kwan announced the birth of her second baby on December 11, 2025, in a candid Instagram post. "My heart doubled in an instant the moment I held her in my arms, and watching my daughter walk into the hospital to meet her baby sister brought tears to my eyes. I've always dreamt of having children, and when Kalista came into the world, I was already beyond grateful for a miracle that once felt impossible after years of trying," she wrote.

In 1998, at the age of 15, Tara Lipinski took on a major role when she was chosen to represent Team USA at the Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan — and she certainly came through, winning a gold medal. She made history by becoming the youngest winner of an individual event in the history of the Winter Games. Despite having immense talent, Lipinski's competition years didn't last, and she retired before turning 20. The reason? She had persistent hip injuries that kept her from doing what she loved. "It's a huge shock when [you're] sitting in bed and you can't get up to get out. I'd go to the mall and I couldn't walk more than 15 minutes and I'd have to sit down," Lipinski told CBC News in 2000. 

While Lipinski's career may have been short-lived, her drive and passion for figure skating didn't die. By 2012, she was working for NBC Sports and NBC Universal, covering various ice skating events, sometimes alongside her longtime friend and fellow skater, Johnny Weir. Lipinski has also had a plethora of other opportunities in the entertainment business, from being a fashion correspondent for the Kentucky Derby to competing on Season 4 of "The Traitors" on Peacock. In July 2025, Lipinski's life had seemingly come full circle when her 2-year-old daughter skated for the first time. "To see my two worlds collide was the best feeling. I feel like I got teary eyed. I was like, 'Why am I so emotional?' But it's really fun and she says 'skating mommy,' so she likes it right now," Lipinski told E! News at the time.