As more and more people have been putting on their ice skates and mastering the skill of skating, there have been plenty of famous professionals over the last few decades. Some of these people have become famous through ice hockey, figure skating, inline skating, pair ice skating and any other kind of skating there is. The reason why the sport has taken off and more people are investing in a pair of ice skates is because it is a lot easier to participate in since artificial indoor ice rinks were invented.
Figure skating has been the most common way for people to become famous as this is the kind that gets the most coverage on television, in newspapers and magazines. One of these people has been Kristi Yamaguchi who won the 1992 Olympics. The reason why she created such a stir when she won was because she was the first woman to have won the Olympics in figure skating since 1976. Strangely enough, Kristi only started skating because of a birth defect she had called clubfeet. She was advised to take up skating as physical therapy for her condition so if it wasn't for that she may have never put on a pair of ice skates.
Although he was a figure skater, Frank Carroll is more well known as a coach and has been considered to be one of the best figure skating coaches in the world. He has gone on to win the Professional Skaters Association Coach of the Year three times and the Olympic Coach of the Year in 1997. This goes to show that in the world of ice skating you don't even have to be wearing a pair of ice skates to become well known.
Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto have been described by many as the most outstanding ice dance team in US history. When ice skates were first used as a method of dancing, ice dancing was introduced to the Olympics in 1976. It was an American couple who won at that Olympics and it wasn't until Belbin and Agosto came along in 1996 that an American couple won this again. They have come first in many different competitions and have also done a lot of charity work which has no doubt helped to win everyone's hearts.
With more and more people opting to pick up ice skates and give it a try, it is likely that there are going to be many more famous ice skaters for years to come.
