Hamilton Reflects on Storied Career, Continuing Efforts Against Cancer

Scott Hamilton couldn't wait to get rid of his gold medal.
As the world champion figure skater discussed on the latest episode of the Predators Official Podcast, the reminder of his towering 1984 Winter Olympics achievement was only standing in the way of what was truly important.
"I realized in my faith journey that those things can become idols and prevent you from really living a full life," Hamilton said. "I saw a lot of Olympians getting stuck in that moment to the point where they could never get past it… But I didn't want to get stuck in that moment. I wanted to launch and build a professional career and do really cool, innovative things on the ice and I was able to do that and just keep going this way. So I'm just ripping the rearview mirror off and I'm throwing it in the backseat and I'm going that way. And it's been really cool to do that because it's liberating, and as much as I love to talk about those days, I'm not beholden to them."
Hamilton's hardware is now sitting behind glass - along with other trinkets and memorabilia pointing to his decorated career - at the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Hamilton, now residing hundreds of miles away from his medal in Franklin, Tenn., would much rather focus on his family, his
Learn to Skate program at Ford Ice Center
or his work raising money for cancer research - a topic dear to the Olympian's heart.

In 1977, Hamilton lost his mother Dorothy to breast cancer. Two decades later, Hamilton went through a battle of his own against testicular cancer.
"I lost my mom to cancer, and I saw what she went through, so the fear was extraordinary," Hamilton said. "And I don't know what happened, but something inside me awakened and that fear was replaced with a sense of power, a clarity of mission. And it was like, I'm coachable, I can do this. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it because I want to be right back on tour next year… I'm going to be the best patient they ever had. I'm going to be fully all in so that I'm doing the best that I can to get my life back and to start all over again."
Hamilton beat the disease and in turn used his platform to help others beat it as well, organizing what would ultimately become the
Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation.
Since its inception in 2000, the CARES Foundation has raised millions of dollars for innovative cancer research - though Hamilton is perhaps most proud of its annual fundraising show 'Scott Hamilton & Friends,' which returned for its sixth year at Bridgestone Arena on Sunday.
The show - a spectacle of elite figure skating and performances from renowned musical acts - has come a long way since its formative years in Cleveland, Ohio.
Now, Hamilton just looks forward to delivering a show like no other to support a tremendous cause.
"People] know that it's an evening like no other, they know that this is the only night the show will ever be performed, they know that it's not televised, they know that we turn Bridgestone Arena into a theater, they know that there's always a few surprises that we present in the night and this year is no different," he said. "As far as the nerve-wracking part of it goes, that happened probably the first five or six shows and this is number 27. So, we know what we're doing. We definitely know what we're doing."
[Click here
to listen to Hamilton's full interview on Episode 181 of the Predators Official Podcast, hosted by Darren McFarland and Kara Hammer.