
Why Former Olympian Scott Hamilton Speaks ‘Whatever the Lord Gives Me to Say’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Former Olympic gold medal figure skater Scott Hamilton relies on his faith and experiences as he encourages audiences as a keynote speaker.
“What do I enjoy about giving keynote address, besides everything? It is the most fun I have,” Hamilton began in a recent video. “I so enjoy speaking and going to places and telling stories and sharing and inspiring and motivating. I try to offer my sort of hard-earned perspective that I think relates to other people and that I think other people can relate to what I’ve endured, and risen above.”
“It’s just so much fun to step in front of a crowd that may need some encouragement and give it to them,” he continued. “I got pulled into this corporate speaking thing and motivational speaking thing going, ‘I don’t really want to do that,’ and now I can’t wait for any and all opportunities to go an talk to different companies, talk to different churches, talk to different organizations, fundraisers, whatever it is. I just try to make a difference on that night for whoever is in the audience.”
Hamilton’s favorite part is the impact it can have on someone else’s life.
“It’s funny because some days, I’m talking to 5,000 people, and I just feel like there’s one person maybe out of those 5,000 that just absolutely needed to hear whatever the Lord gives me to say,” he said. “It’s really remarkable that on so many occasions I just get to meet people that are struggling, need perspective and need just a little bit of a gust of wind in their sails. To be able to offer that is just such a thrill and something I’m so grateful for.”
Hamilton has relied on his faith throughout his life as he’s dealt with brain cancer. Movieguide® recently reported on how it “supercharged” his faith:
“2004 was the first brain tumor. It just ignited my faith, it was one of those things.” Hamilton told Jennifer Hudson. “I told my wife, [and] without skipping a beat, she just took my hands and started to pray, and it was the most powerful — I’ve had a lot of big moments, that was probably the biggest.”
Though that tumor was removed by doctors, it came back six years later and wasn’t as easy to remove. However, after nine surgeries, the brain tumor was fully taken care of, only to return six years later.
“There’s a pattern emerging here,” Hamilton joked. “I came back again, and this time, I just felt like they’re giving me a surgical option and a medical option. All I felt in the back of my head was ‘Get strong.’ That was it. Just ‘Get strong.’ I had no idea what that meant, and they said, ‘Well, what do you want to do, surgery or [the] medical option?’ I go, ‘I’m going to go home, and I’m going to get strong.’ And they go, ‘What does that look like?’ And I said, ‘I have no idea. I’m just feeling this.’”
He recently celebrated 40 years since his gold medal win at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics.
“It’s mind-boggling to believe 40 years have passed since I stood on the podium,” he said. He used the anniversary to reunite with Brian Orser of Canada and Jozef Sabovčík of Czechoslovakia, the skaters he beat that year, and to raise funds for cancer research.
“There are a lot of reasons I shouldn’t be here. And I am here. I celebrate every single day,” Hamilton said. “Right now, I’m just trying to really be productive and be as busy as I can, living as totally normal a life as I can. Be a good citizen and fund cancer research.”