Scott Hamilton puts skating career on ice;

Copyright 2000 The Baltimore Sun Company

Sometimes, you simply know when it's time to call it quits. For figure skater Scott Hamilton that time is now, or soon anyway.

Hamilton, an Olympic champion who has dazzled audiences for more than two decades, is not hanging up his skates entirely. But he is saying farewell to his "Target Stars on Ice" show, which has been touring the country for the past 15 years. The 2000-01 season will be his last with the show.

"It seems like 15 years was enough," Hamilton says over the phone from Los Angeles. "In order for the show to take off into the 'next big thing,' there needs to be the next generation, this current generation, to take over."

Hamilton will be making his last Baltimore stop with the tour on Dec. 30 at the Baltimore Arena. Skaters Kristi Yamaguchi, Tara Lipinski and Kurt Browning are among the others performing in the show.

For Hamilton, this fork in the road represents more of a beginning rather than an ending.

"There are things on my list that I want to do," he says. One of those things is a "theater skating show" on Broadway. Right now, he is only in the "investigating" stage on that project.

"I'm just talking about it now," he says. "It comes down to asking a lot of questions. Part of it is I'm putting myself in a brand new arena."

Hamilton, 42, was born in Ohio and now splits his time between homes in Los Angeles and Denver. He became an Olympic gold medalist in 1984 and has racked up many titles since. As an amateur skater, his wins include the U.S. National Championships and the World Championships.

As a professional figure skater, he has won the World Professional Championships and the U.S. Open Professional Championships and has been inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame, among many other honors.

And he has done all this while facing health challenges over the years.

He first became ill at the age of about 2, with what was initially diagnosed as cystic fibrosis. He was given just months to live. After treatment at another hospital, he was put on a special diet and moderate exercise routine and soon began to recover.

The exercise included skating, a discipline in which Hamilton showed potential from the very beginning.

Much later, in the late 1990s, Hamilton faced a cancer scare. But now all that is behind him, he says. He is happy and well.

He is looking forward, but not without some sadness.

"It is a little bittersweet," he says. "The show has been so much a part of my life, leaving it is tough. But we have all got to leave sometime."

Hamilton's last tour will include 65 cities, the same as it has always been. Getting away from that grueling schedule, he says, is something to look forward to.

"I just want to have a life," he says.

Career highs

Highlights of Scott Hamilton's skating career:

Amateur

1980: Fifth-place finish, men's figure skating, Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, N.Y.

1981-83: Men's world figure skating champion

1981-84: Men's champion, U.S. Figure Skating Championships

1984: Gold medal, men's figure skating, Sarajevo Winter Olympics; men's world champion

Professional

1984: Men's world professional champion

1986: Men's world professional champion; professional Skater of the Year

1990: U.S. professional champion; inductee, U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and World Figure Skating Hall of Fame

1994: Canadian professional champion; Fox's Rock and Roll Skating champion; first place, The Gold Championship

'Target Stars on Ice'

Where: Baltimore Arena

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Tickets: $35-$ 55

Call: 410-481-SEAT