Hamill performs her winning free skate at the 1976 Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria.
“When I got back with Carlo before the Olympics, there
was a freshness there and it lightened up things. I really loved Carlo. He was funny, an incredible teacher and a really good
person.” With Fassi back in the fold, she was free to work on per- fecting her long program. One particular jump was a bit of a concern.
“Te second double Axel was my nemesis,” Hamill re- marked while watching a video of her long program several
years ago. “I landed both double Axels, but left out a double toe loop after the second one. I wasn’t in the right position for the takeoff and I wasn’t 100 percent sure of it.” “A double toe loop!” she laughed. “Tat sounds so silly
today. I’m so used to watching all the contemporary skaters and how easy the jumps look for them.” In the 40 years since Hamill’s Olympic victory, triple and — for the men — quadruple jumps have become the norm. When programs are packed with difficult moves to rack up points, sometimes the more artistic elements are left out. Like Hamill’s gorgeous layback spin, for example. “Tere’s so much more to skating than just jumping and
Dorothy Hamill Born: July 26, 1956
Birthplace: Chicago Hometown: Baltimore
Career highlights: t 1976 Olympic champion t Three-time U.S. champion (1974–76)
t Three-time World medalist: 1974–75 (silver), 1976 (gold)
t Five-time U.S. medalist: 1970 (junior silver), 1973 (silver), 1974–76 (gold)
spinning,” she said. “But nowadays, they have to change posi- tions so many times.” Tanks to the Internet, people can go back and watch
Hamill’s beautiful layback in her long program. Another inter- esting element was her walley jump with a variation — both of her arms were over her head.
“I used to think it helped me transfer the weight because
you’re jumping on the one edge and jumping outside of the curve,” she reflected. “I always found that — for me — it helped the jump.” So Brian Boitano’s famed “Tano” triple Lutz (with one
arm above the head) may have had a predecessor? “Well, I know someone did it before me,” she said. “Janet
Lynn could do them in both directions. I think I did it with my double Lutz, too. It helped the rhythm because you’d be more vertical in the air. But it got to the point with me that I almost couldn’t do it without doing that!” Besides the gold medal that she won in Innsbruck, Hamill
now owns another cherished memento of that day — a sign made by a young American serviceman. “At the time, I had no idea what it was about,” she remem-
bered. “Apparently, this young man wanted to make a sign and the only thing he had was a bedsheet. It said, ‘Which of the West?’ above a rainbow. It meant who will win as opposed to
SKATING 29
TONY TRIOLO /SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/GETTY IMAGES
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