Famous Figure Skaters: What Are They Doing Now?

Katarina Witt

Originally representing East Germany, former figure skater Katarina Witt made history when she became the first female since 1936 to win back-to-back in the singles at the Winter Olympics. She first struck gold in 1984 in Sarajevo and then four years later in Calgary.

Katarina Witt – Now

East Germany’s end meant that Witt had complete freedom to pursue dreams outside of figure skating. Not only did she appear in Playboy magazine, but she also had her own memoir published in 2005 – Only With Passion. In 2013, a biopic aired on ESPN about Witt’s life both before and after the unification of Germany. Most recently, Witt helped Munich’s bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. However, it was ultimately Pyeongchang, South Korea that were given the opportunity to host the games.

Dorothy Hamill

1976 was truly the year for Dorothy Hamill. It was the year when the former figure skater won both the ladies’ singles event at the Winter Olympics, which took place in Innsbruck, Austria, as well as the World Championships. Her Olympic triumph was particularly impressive seeing that she was the last to win gold without hitting a triple jump. Hamill is also renowned for having created her own move – the “Hamill camel.” It’s essentially a camel spin that evolves into a sit spin.

Dorothy Hamill – Now

Like many successful figure skaters, Dorothy Hamill turned to professional performances after her Olympic and World Championship triumphs. One of her keynote performances was on the show Broadway on Ice and Hamill also made an appearance on the 16th season of Dancing with the Stars. However, after just two episodes, she had to pull out after receiving a nasty injury. Since then though, Hamill has bounced back with performances in shows such as Go Figure: The Randy Gardner Story.

Peggy Fleming

Peggy Fleming’s biggest triumph came in 1968 at the Winter Olympics in Grenoble. It was here that she won the gold for Team U.S. in the ladies’ singles. Amazingly, it was the only gold that Team U.S. won in the entire tournament. In her career, Fleming has won the World Championship three times. Just two years after winning gold at the Winter Olympics, she tied the knot with her teenage sweetheart, Greg Jenkins, who was a former amateur figure skater.