On And Off The Ice

Description for ON AND OFF THE ICE by Dorothy Hamill: "Suddenly I was carrying more than my own personal hopes and fears. I felt that in a sense I was not longer Dorothy Hamill---I was the United States. The medal was not mine to lose---I was representing the hopes and dreams of thousands of people I had never even met...I tried to block everything out except the skating. I tried to focus my mind, make it concentrate totally on the coming program...And then I was skating, and I had never felt as good as I did at that moment." Dorothy Hamill went on to win an Olympic Gold Medal and the World Figure Skating Championship; she has been called "America's Sweetheart," named "Outstanding Athlete of the Year", and voted "the most trusted female athlete". Her picture has appeared on the cover of "Time" magazine; she has skated in ice ballets and with the Ice Capades, and is well known to television audiences. Her zest for skating and sense of fun light everything she does. In a voi