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Famous People in Figure Skating

By Jo Ann Schneider Farris, About.com

This is a list of some of the famous people in figure skating. It is not a complete list, but highlights some of the ice skating celebrities of the past and the present.

1. Brian Boitano

Brian BoitanoPhoto by: Bob Martin - Getty Images
Brian Boitano won the Olympics in 1988. His signature jump was the Tano triple lutz where he raised his left arm above his head.

2. Frank Carroll

Frank CarrollPhoto by Matthew Stockman - Getty Images
Frank Carroll is considered one of the best figure skating coaches in the world. His figure skating students have won six world championships, four junior world championships, three Olympic medals, and twenty world championship medals. The most famous skater he trained is figure skating legend Michelle Kwan. He also trained world champion and Olympic Silver Medalist Linda Fratianne.

3. Evgeni Plushenko

Evgeni PlushenkoPhoto by Al Bello - Getty Images
Russian male figure skater Evgeni Plushenko won the Gold Medal in the 2006 Olympics. His huge jumps dazzle audiences.

4. Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto

Ben Agosto and Tanith BelbinPhoto by Elsa/Staff - Getty Images
At the 2006 Olympics, Belbin and Agosto won a silver medal in ice dancing, the highest Olympic result of any American pair in the discipline. They were the first American ice dancers to win an Olympic medal in thirty years.

5. Michelle Kwan

Michelle KwanPhoto by Jonathan Ferrey/Staff - Getty Images
Michelle Kwan has won nine U.S. championships, five world championships, and two Olympic medals. She is considered a figure skating legend and is the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history.

6. Dorothy Hamill

Dorothy HamillPhoto by Tony Duffy - Getty Images
Dorothy Hamill won the 1976 Olympics. Her signature move was known as the "Hamill camel." Her famous "wedge" hairstyle was copied by young girls everywhere.

7. Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov

Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei GrinkovPhoto by Mike Powell - Getty Images
Russian pair skaters Gordeeva and Grinkov won virtually every competition they entered. They won the Olympics in both 1988 and in 1994. They began skating together as children and married in 1991. Sergei died suddenly in 1995. Ekaterina Gordeeva continues to perform.

8. John Nicks

John NicksPhoto by Doug Pensinger - Getty Images
John Nicks has coached many top U.S. pairs teams including Jo Jo Starbuck and Ken Shelley, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner and Jenny Meno and Todd Sand. He also coached Peggy Fleming and Sasha Cohen.

9. Sasha Cohen

Sasha CohenPhoto by Elsa/Staff - Getty Images
Sasha Cohen won a silver medal at the 2006 Olympics. She is known for being one of the most polished skaters in the world.

10. Kristi Yamaguchi

Kristi YamaguchiPhoto by Mike Powell - Getty Images
Kristi Yamaguchi won the 1992 Olympics. She also competed in Pairs Skating with partner Rudy Galindo. In 1989, she became the first woman to win two medals at the U.S. nationals in thirty-five years.

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