You’ll Spin Out Seeing U.S. Olympic Figure Skaters Then & Now

Team USA is ready to dazzle with twizzles, waltzes and unforgettable jumps on the ice.

American figure skaters, including Amber Glenn, Madison Chock, and Evan Bates, are aiming for gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, which start on February 6th.

Figure skater Alysa Liu is back on the ice after a brief retirement at just 16 years old. Despite finishing sixth at the 2022 Games, she feels good about taking a few years off from competition.

Alysa, now 20, recently shared that leaving her previous commitment was one of the best choices she’s ever made. Speaking at the Team USA Media Summit in October, she explained she needed to explore other opportunities and felt she couldn’t do that while still involved, as she felt confined and unable to move forward.

Everyone is watching the current Olympic team, but former Team USA athletes are also continuing to thrive. For example, Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir are currently filming season four of the show The Traitors, and can be found at the show’s castle location.

Even though they’ve been friends since working together as commentators at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, they had to keep their friendship hidden on the reality show.

Tara, the youngest gold medalist at the 1998 Winter Games at age 15, explained to OK! Magazine in January that she didn’t feel a need to be the one to confront and catch someone who had betrayed them. She and Johnny had developed their own approach, which mirrored how they typically handled things individually.

Tara and Johnny, both Olympians who competed in 2006 and 2010, also chose to avoid showing physical affection while appearing on the show.

She explained they were trying to keep their close friendship a secret. It was stressful pretending they weren’t so close, but she was proud of how they managed it. She remembered when they first entered the castle, he hugged her, and she immediately thought it was too obvious and would give them away.

Now, glide down for a closer look at where the most beloved figure skaters are now.

A two-time Olympian, Hamilton won gold in Sarajevo in 1984, becoming the first American man to win the event since David Jenkins in 1960. He later became a four-time World Champion, performed in professional tours, and worked as a TV commentator for CBS and NBC for many years.

As someone who’s always believed in resilience, I’ve often shared my own health journey. Back in 1997, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and honestly, getting through that really changed my perspective. I always say, surviving that experience made me feel like I could handle absolutely anything life threw my way. Later on, I also dealt with a non-cancerous brain tumor that came back, but that initial battle truly gave me the strength to face it all.

He shared with People magazine in 2015 that he’s always been resilient, always finding a way to bounce back from setbacks. He explained that skating, with all its falls, taught him the importance of perseverance. His advice to others was to keep going through tough times, believing that something positive awaits on the other side.

Hamilton and his wife, Tracie, have four children, including two they adopted from Haiti in 2014.

He kept the skating costume from his gold-medal performance and displayed it on NBC Sports’ “Olympic Ice” from his home in Tennessee during the 2022 Beijing Games.

To celebrate his tenth anniversary with the event, Hamilton will return as a commentator for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.

Brian Boitano’s gold medal performance at the 1988 Calgary Olympics was historic. He not only won the gold but also became the first Olympic skater to successfully land all six types of triple jumps. He’d previously achieved this same feat at the 1983 World Championships, making him the first skater ever to do so. His skates, adorned with the American flag, are now displayed in the National Museum of American History.

Brian Boitano, an Emmy Award-winning figure skater known for his performance in Carmen on Ice, experienced a surprising boost in popularity when he was referenced in the 1999 song “What Would Brian Boitano Do?” from South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. This led to him hosting the Food Network show What Would Brian Boitano Make? and appearing in the films Ice Princess and Blades of Glory.

When President Barack Obama appointed him to the U.S. delegation for the 2014 Sochi Olympics, he decided to publicly come out as gay. He hadn’t originally intended to do so, but was motivated by Russia’s recent passage of anti-gay laws and wanted to protest them.

Boitano explained in a statement that he felt it was important to be open about this part of himself while representing the country. He sees participating in the Russia games as a significant opportunity and a valuable platform for him.

During the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Brian Boitano worked with NBC Sports. Now, he’s partnering with USA TODAY columnist Christin Brennan to host the ‘Milan Magic’ video podcast, focusing on the 2026 Winter Games.

The 1992 Olympic gold medalist initially achieved success as a pairs skater. They partnered with Rudy Galindo to win the U.S. junior championships in 1986 and the world junior championships in 1988.

Honestly, going solo was everything for Kristi! That Albertville win? It proved it! Seeing her become the first Asian American woman to win Olympic gold in the Winter Games… I was obsessed! And it wasn’t just about the skating, you know? She toured for years afterward, which was amazing, but then she started the Always Dream Foundation! It’s incredible – she helps kids who need it most with after-school programs and everything they need to succeed. She’s just… a legend, seriously.

She’s had a busy and successful career beyond her athletic achievements. She’s appeared in several TV shows and movies, written a popular children’s book, launched a fitness video, and designed her own line of activewear. Plus, in 2006, she made history as the first Olympic figure skating champion to win Dancing With the Stars.

Tiffani Yamaguchi has been married to former hockey player Bret Hedican since 2000. They first met in a charming way at the 1992 Olympics, where they were both representing Team USA, and have two daughters together.

Reflecting on her career as the 2026 Winter Games approach, she shared how thankful she is for the chances she’s been given. “I’m incredibly grateful for how everything unfolded,” she said in an interview with the Nob Hill Gazette. “I often think about how different my life would be if things hadn’t gone so well.”

Nancy Kerrigan had previously won a bronze medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics. However, she became widely known after a shocking attack just before the 1994 U.S. Championships in Detroit, where she was struck in the knee. The attack was orchestrated by the ex-husband of her fellow skater, Tonya Harding.

Following my silver medal win at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics, things got pretty crazy! Suddenly I was doing endorsements, even hosting Saturday Night Live, and enjoying all the fun that came with being in the spotlight. Of course, there were a few awkward moments too – like when a hot mic picked up my honest (and maybe a little harsh!) opinion about the Walt Disney World Parade. Let’s just say it wasn’t my favorite experience!

Kerrigan was a professional skater and became well-known giving speeches. She also appeared on television many times and wrote a book called Artistry on Ice. In 2017, she placed sixth on Dancing With the Stars.

While competing on the ballroom show, Kerrigan revealed she experienced six miscarriages over eight years after having her first child, Matthew, in 1996. She and her husband, Jerry Solomon, later welcomed two more children: Brian in 2005, and Nicole in 2008.

As the 2022 Beijing Olympics approached, Kerrigan shared with NewsNation’s Morning in America that watching her children—Brian in gymnastics and Nicole in ballet—has made her especially grateful for the support her own parents gave her.

She fondly remembers skating in “Holiday Spectacular on Ice” during the 2025 holiday season and still keeps her skates nearby.

Tonya Harding wasn’t a popular athlete when she qualified for her second Olympics in 1994, and she’s not widely celebrated now. However, looking back, and especially after the 2017 film I, Tonya offered a new perspective, she’s no longer seen as simply a villain.

Just a month after winning the U.S. championship, her performance at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics was a letdown; her routine was stopped short when her skate lace broke. Then, in June, she lost her national title after an investigation revealed her ex-husband and others had planned the attack on Nancy Kerrigan, intending to injure Kerrigan and prevent her from competing in the Olympics. Harding maintained she had no prior knowledge of the plot.

People often made fun of Harding. For a long time, she was known mostly for scandalous behavior, including creating a sex tape, participating in celebrity boxing, and getting arrested for assaulting her boyfriend. She admitted to the assault and served a brief jail sentence of three days.

Following Margot Robbie’s critically acclaimed portrayal of Tonya Harding in a film, public perception of Harding seemed to soften. In 2018, she competed on Dancing With the Stars, finishing third among athletes, and the following year, she won Worst Cooks in America, donating her $250,000 prize to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

She’s been married to third husband Joseph Price since 2010 and is mom to son Gordon, born in 2011.

Though she never won Olympic gold – taking silver in 1998 and bronze in 2002 – and was sidelined by injury in 2006, this nine-time U.S. champion (tied with the legendary 1930s Olympian Maribel Vinson for the all-time record) remains an iconic figure in American figure skating.

Following the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, while on the Champions on Ice Tour and earning a leading $1 million, Michelle Kwan spoke to the Los Angeles Times about the audience’s reaction to her performances. She described their applause not as sympathy, but as a comforting acknowledgment that life isn’t always perfect. They understood the disappointment of not winning, but recognized that setbacks are a normal part of life, and encouraged her to accept it and keep moving forward.

Looking back after almost twenty years, she told People magazine in 2021 that having the chance to represent her country was an incredible honor – unlike anything else she’d experienced.

In 2016 and 2020, Kwan actively supported Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden’s campaigns, acting as a public spokesperson. She also produced the 2021 YouTube special, Recipe for Change.

She announced the birth of her first daughter, Kalista Belle Kwan, in 2022. Then, in 2025, she welcomed her second daughter, Della Rose Kwan.

We know you recognize him—the 1998 Olympic gold medalist who now provides commentary for NBC Sports, alongside Johnny Weir, since becoming part of the team in 2013.

In a 2018 interview with GQ, she described meeting Weir as finding a soul mate later in life, saying she couldn’t picture her life without him.

Oh my gosh, you will NOT believe how incredible Katarina Lipinski was! She became the youngest world champion ever at just 14 years old back in ’97, and then, get this, she totally dominated at the Nagano Olympics the very next year! Fifteen years old and she won Olympic gold! Can you even imagine? And she didn’t just win, she beat everyone, even Michelle Kwan, who everyone thought was a shoo-in for the gold! Michelle had to settle for silver, but honestly, Katarina was just on another level.

She told TopMob News that she could still feel her legs shaking when her name was announced – something she’d never experienced before. But even more memorable than winning, she said, was the moment she finished skating. She vividly recalled the immense relief and joy she felt, having performed well on the ice in front of a huge Olympic audience. It wasn’t just about the win, but the feeling of a great performance on the world’s biggest stage.

She met her future husband, Todd Kapostasy, while presenting him with an award at the Sports Emmys in 2015, and they married two years later. Together, they produced the 2022 Peacock documentary Meddling, which explores the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics scandal where pairs skaters were awarded two sets of gold medals.

Lipinski recently started appearing on reality television, joining the cast of The Traitors on Peacock for its fourth season.

As someone who follows figure skating closely, even I was surprised by Sarah Hughes at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics! It felt like she appeared on the scene out of nowhere. Winning gold in her very first Olympics was incredible, and her long program was just so joyful and captivating – it really connected with everyone watching.

Let me tell you, when this skater first came onto the scene, a lot of people weren’t expecting her to be a superstar. She was a junior champion back in ’98, but by the 2001 World Championships, she’d only managed a bronze medal. Making the Olympic team was a huge step, but even then, she wasn’t the frontrunner – she was in fourth place after the short program. Everyone thought Michelle Kwan had it locked up going into the long program, and she ended up taking the bronze. It just goes to show you, things can change quickly!

Interestingly, Hughes is the only American woman to ever win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating without also achieving a national or world championship title.

She received her education at Yale and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and now works as a lawyer in New York. She previously represented Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign and participated in the U.S. delegation to the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. In 2021, she publicly shared her experience with egg freezing on her website, expressing her excitement to return to ice skating once her doctor gave her the okay.

The skater, who won the national championship in 2006 and earned a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, took a three-year break from competitive skating. However, they remained active in the sport, performing in shows and at events like the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lighting.

She nearly qualified for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, becoming a team alternate after finishing fourth at the U.S. Championships, but she retired from the sport later that same year.

I’ve been following Sasha Cohen for years, and I always admired her dedication. Beyond being an incredible athlete, she’s really intelligent – she actually graduated from Columbia University with a degree in political science back in 2016. It’s amazing considering everything she accomplished as a skater! She even wrote a memoir, Fire on Ice, when she was just 19, and has always been very honest about how much pressure she felt during her competitions. It really gives you a deeper appreciation for her talent and resilience.

She explained to US Figure Skating Fan Zone in 2021 that young Olympic athletes often dedicate their teenage years to training and competing, only to retire while still very young. This creates a difficult transition, going from being a celebrated and well-supported star to feeling forgotten after their competitive career ends.

Cohen married hedge fund manager Tom May in August 2016, but they divorced two years later in 2018. In October 2019, on her birthday, she shared on Instagram that she felt more mature, stronger, and had a better understanding of what’s truly important. She and her husband, Geoffrey Lieberthal, welcomed their son, Dashiell, in 2020.

After Brian Boitano’s win in 1988, U.S. men’s figure skating didn’t see much Olympic success for a while. Paul Wylie’s silver medal in 1992 and Timothy Goebel’s bronze in 2002 were the only highlights, suggesting the American team was struggling to compete at the highest level.

After narrowly missing a medal in 2006 with a fourth-place finish, two-time national champion Evan Lysacek finally won gold in Vancouver in 2010. He also gained attention for his stylish costumes, designed by Vera Wang.

That spring, he took second place on Dancing With the Stars and was also honored as the U.S. Olympic Committee’s SportsMan of the Year.

Following his skating career, Lysacek transitioned into commercial real estate, even working with Wang in New York for a period. In 2019, he married real estate developer Duangpatra Bodiratnangkura in a Bangkok, Thailand ceremony.

He told People magazine how incredibly fortunate he was to have found his then-fiancée, describing her as amazing and saying she inspires him to be his best self.

In 2026, Lysacek will be attending the Opening Ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Olympics as a member of the U.S. delegation.

Okay, so he might not have technically won any Olympic medals – 2006 and 2010 were so frustrating! – but honestly, forget the scores. He owned that ice! His performances weren’t just skating, they were full-on glam-rock shows, and in my opinion, he always deserved the gold for sheer artistry and style. He just captivated everyone, you know?

Weir explained that he and his co-host, Tara Lipinski, brought a total of 17 suitcases with them to Beijing in 2022. He jokingly told TopMob’s Daily Pop that this was actually fewer than usual, suggesting they’re either getting better at packing or they simply know each other’s wardrobes so well after spending so much time together.

The duo’s chemistry and expertise have made their commentary must-watch parts of the Olympics.

Lipinski said to TopMob that if they showed figure skating on screen, both she and her companion would jump up, and she’d instinctively reach for his hand.

Johnny Weir and Victor Voronov got married in 2012, but their marriage ended in a difficult split less than two years later. Weir has fond memories of Tara Lipinski supporting him when they both worked at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

He shared with GQ in 2018 that Tara was his sole support during a difficult divorce. He recognized it was a big ask for a new friend, but Tara was there for him as long as he needed her, helping him stay focused on work. Despite his personal life falling apart, they were incredibly successful professionally, gaining popularity across the country. This shared experience created a strong and rapid bond between them.

Following a silver medal at the Vancouver Olympics, the pair – six-time national and two-time world champions – made history at the Sochi Games by winning the first-ever gold medal in ice dancing for the United States. They also contributed to the team’s bronze medal win. Though they weren’t a couple romantically, the long-time skating partners were thrilled to achieve this historic milestone, possibly disappointing some fans who hoped for a love story.

Life has been quite a whirlwind! After winning Dancing With the Stars a few months back, my skating partner and I enjoyed a lovely exhibition tour. We finally decided to hang up our skates in February 2017, which was bittersweet, of course. On a much happier note, I married the wonderful Fedor Andreev, a retired figure skater, in June 2019. It was a dream come true – a beautiful ceremony in Provence, France! It feels like a perfect next chapter.

The bride told Town & Country that they focused on breathing and soaking in the moment, calling it incredibly meaningful. After dating for a long time and loving each other for years, sharing that experience was especially beautiful and is now one of her most cherished memories.

A little cold, but wedding days will do that to a person, even an Olympic gold medalist.

In 2015, White married Tanith Melvin, a retired ice dancer who is Canadian-American, and they are now parents to a son.

Though he didn’t medal in the individual event at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, the 2016 national champion helped the U.S. team win bronze. More importantly, he captured the hearts of Americans with his energetic performances, artistic skating, lively personality, and positive attitude both on and off the ice.

Sally Field’s son, Sam Greisman, shared a funny exchange on Twitter. He posted a message from his Oscar-winning mother where she encouraged him to pursue someone, saying, “Sam… he’s insanely pretty. Find a way.”

Oh my gosh, after the Olympics in Pyeongchang, Adam Rippon just exploded! He went straight to ‘Dancing With the Stars’ and totally won! Can you believe it? And then, TIME Magazine named him one of the 100 Most Influential People in 2018! Seriously, he’s everywhere! He’s been juggling being a total star – guest-hosting ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ being in Taylor Swift’s ‘You Need to Calm Down’ video (I’ve watched it a million times!) – all while being an amazing activist. I’m just obsessed with everything he does!

He married husband Jussi-Pekka Kajaala on Dec. 31, 2021.

In January 2022, Adam Rippon shared with TopMob News what he hoped people would take away from the Beijing Olympics. He said he wanted viewers to remember that the athletes are people, and that they will be paying attention to how they are discussed and celebrated. He emphasized that these athletes have dedicated their lives to reaching this point, regardless of the outcome.

Okay, so you will NOT believe this! As if Adam Rippon wasn’t already perfect, he’s teamed up with Chase Cain for this season of My New Favorite Olympian podcast! I’m seriously counting down the minutes until the next episode drops. It’s going to be AMAZING, I just know it. I’m already obsessed!

The athlete, a two-time national champion and model for CoverGirl, won a bronze medal with her teammates at the first-ever team event in the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Though many expected her to compete again in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, she decided to take a break from her career to focus on her well-being.

I’ve been so impressed with how openly she’s discussed the pressures athletes face and the impact on their mental wellbeing. She really broke my heart when she shared her own experiences with an eating disorder, anxiety, and depression in a 2019 interview with the New York Times. She described this awful feeling of wanting people to know you’re struggling, hoping they’ll offer help, but being too afraid to actually ask for it – feeling stuck in this terrible place. It resonated so deeply with me, and I think it’s helped so many others feel less alone.

Along with athletes like Michael Phelps and Lolo Jones, Gold was featured in the 2020 documentary The Weight of Gold, which explores the mental health struggles of Olympians. While she didn’t qualify for the 2022 U.S. Olympic team, finishing tenth in the national competition, Gold still participated in the excitement by joining Kevin Hart’s Winter Olympics Tailgate Party.

A three-time national champion, Wagner earned a team bronze medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. However, she didn’t make the U.S. team in 2018 and openly expressed her anger, telling reporters she was ‘absolutely furious’ with her scores at the U.S. Championships that January.

She explained on TODAY that she’s always straightforward and honest. While she still had some questions about how the scoring was done, she ultimately agreed that the judges chose the best team based on their criteria.

Oh my gosh, when they asked her how she felt right after hearing the results, she said it just completely broke her heart. She was devastated! Can you imagine? Twenty-two years of work, all leading up to that moment, and she was so, so proud of what she’d created. It’s just… heartbreaking to even think about.

In 2023, she married Alex Clark, who teaches science at the middle school level. They soon after welcomed their daughter, Rosalie Starbird Clark.

In a 2021 interview with NBC Sports, Wagner admitted she never actually enjoyed skating. She viewed it as a way to achieve her goals, and once she stopped, she was completely finished with it.

2026-02-07 15:20

Read More