As a child, Olympic gold medal figure skater and sports broadcaster Scott Scovell Hamilton (1958–) was unable to absorb nutrients properly, which stunted his growth. The experience taught him tenacity and self-reliance, qualities he carried with him onto the ice.

“The only disability in life is a bad attitude,” he once said.

Hamilton was born on this day in Bowling Green, Ohio. With determination and passion, showmanship and dedication, he won four consecutive U.S. and World Championships from 1981–84, then captured the gold medal at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics. He called winning “the greatest feeling in the world.”

In 1997, Hamilton was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Following chemotherapy and surgery, the cancer went into remission.

“Adversity and perseverance... shape you. They can give you a value and a self-esteem that is priceless,” he said.

Hamilton faced serious health challenges again, with brain tumors diagnosed in 2004, 2010, and 2016.

“In skating, the first thing you learn is how to get up from a fall,” Hamilton said. “So why fear falling?”

An advocate for cancer research and survivorship, Hamilton founded the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation, dedicated to changing the future of cancer by funding innovative research and improving the cancer journey for patients and families.

“The key to a long and happy life is, at times, a very short-term memory,” he observed. “Out with the bad and hang on to the good.”