Famous Ice Skaters

Oksana Baiul

Oksana Baiul is an Ukrainian professional figure skater. Oksana is the 1994 Olympic champion. She was born in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine on November 16, 1977. When she was only three years old her grandfather gave her, her first pair of ice skates. She began competing at ice skating events at the age of seven. She won the 1993 World Figure skating Championship at the age of 15. Afterwards she won the gold medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics defeating Nancy Kerrigan of the United States. She turned professional after the 1994 Winter Olympics even though she was only 16 years old at the time and had only competed in four major international events winning the two highest ranked titles- World Figure Skating and the Olympics and finishing second in the European competition in 1993 and 1994. Following her win at the 1994 Winter Olympics, some skating commentators and critics praised Oksana's balletic style and performance ability. Following the Olympics, however, Oksana was plagued by two physical ailments that affected her skating ability. The first was arthroscopic knee surgery in the summer of 1994, after which Oksana was advised by her doctor to not return to the ice for two months. Due to the million-dollar contract signed by her coach, Galina Zmievskaya, Baiul ignored doctor's wishes (at Zmievskaya's behest) and returned to the ice in two weeks and was competing in six. This, as well as the changes in Oksana’s maturing body, hindered her jumping ability drastically.

In response to her increasing professional and personal problems, Oksana turned to alcohol. In 1997, Baiul was arrested after intoxication caused her to crash her car. Oksana eventually entered a rehab program. Since then, she has continued to skate professionally from time to time, including an engagement with the touring show "Broadway on Ice".

Mao Asada

Mao Asada is a Japanese figure skater. Mao is the two-time (2007 & 2008) Japanese national champion. The 2005/2006 Grand Prix champion and the 2008 World Figure Skating Champion and Four Continents Champion. Mao is ranked first in the world. She was born in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan on September 25, 1990. Mao began skating in 1995. Mao became the first lady to land two triple axels during a free skate program at the 2005 Japanese National Figure Skating Championship. Mao finished second in the competition but was too young to qualify for the 2006 Winter Olympics figure skating competition due to International Skating Union eligibility rules. In season 2007-2008 Mao won her both Grand Prix events. Asada won her second national title and was placed on the teams for the 2008 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships and the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships. Mao won the Four Continents Championships in her first time at the event. Mao won the 2008 World Championship in Gothenburg.

Brian Boitano

Brian Boitano is an American figure skater. Brian is a four-time US national champion, two-time World Champion (in 1986 and 1988) and the 1988 Olympic gold medalist. He was born on October 22, 1963 in Mountain View, California. Boitano was the first American skater to land a triple axel. Brian was also the first skater to attempt a quadruple jump in competition. Brian’s signature jump was the Tano triple lutz where he raised his left arm above his head. In 1996, Brian was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. After turning professional in 1988, Boitano won six World Professional Championship titles.