The Most Famous

SKATERS from United States

This page contains a list of the greatest American Skaters. The pantheon dataset contains 483 Skaters, 61 of which were born in United States. This makes United States the birth place of the 2nd most number of Skaters.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary American Skaters of all time. This list of famous American Skaters is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of American Skaters.

1. Tonya Harding (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 56.82, Tonya Harding is the most famous American Skater. Her biography has been translated into 38 different languages on wikipedia.

Tonya Maxene Price (née Harding; born November 12, 1970) is an American former figure skater and boxer, and reality television personality. Born in Portland, Oregon, Harding was raised by her mother, who enrolled her in ice skating lessons when Tonya was 3 years old. Harding spent much of her early life training, eventually dropping out of high school to devote her time to the sport. After climbing the ranks in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships between 1986 and 1989, Harding won the 1989 Skate America competition. She was the 1991 and 1994 U.S. champion, and 1991 World silver medalist. In 1991, she became the first American woman and the second woman in history (after Midori Ito) to successfully land a triple Axel in an international competition. Harding is a two-time Olympian and a two-time Skate America Champion. In January 1994, Harding became embroiled in controversy when her ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, orchestrated an attack on her fellow U.S. skating rival Nancy Kerrigan. On March 16, 1994, Harding accepted a plea bargain in which she pled guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution. As a result of her involvement in the aftermath of the assault, the United States Figure Skating Association banned her for life on June 30, 1994; she was stripped of her 1994 title. From 2003 to 2004, Harding competed as a professional boxer. Her life has been the subject of many books, films, documentaries, and academic studies. In 2014, two television documentaries were made about Harding's life and skating career (Nancy & Tonya and The Price of Gold), inspiring Steven Rogers to write the film I, Tonya in 2017, for which Australian star Margot Robbie portrayed Harding, and also produced the film. In 2018, she was a contestant on season 26 of Dancing with the Stars, finishing in third place. In 2019, she won season 16 of Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition.

2. Tony Hawk (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 50.92, Tony Hawk is the 2nd most famous American Skater. His biography has been translated into 42 different languages.

Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American former professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first documented "900" skateboarding trick in 1999. He also licensed a skateboarding video game series named after him, published by Activision that same year. Hawk retired from competing professionally in 2003 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential skateboarders of all time. Hawk has been involved in various philanthropic activities throughout his career. He founded The Skatepark Project, which helps to build skateparks in underprivileged areas around the world.

3. Eric Heiden (b. 1958)

With an HPI of 50.77, Eric Heiden is the 3rd most famous American Skater. His biography has been translated into 44 different languages.

Eric Arthur Heiden (born June 14, 1958) is an American physician and a former long track speed skater, road cyclist and track cyclist. He won an unprecedented five individual gold medals, and set four Olympic records and one world record at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games. Heiden was the most successful athlete at those Olympic Games, single-handedly winning more gold medals than all nations except for the Soviet Union (10) and East Germany (9). He is the most successful Winter Olympian from a single edition of any Winter Olympics. He delivered the Athlete's Oath at those same 1980 Games. His coach was Dianne Holum. Heiden is an icon in the speed skating community. His victories are significant, as few speed skaters (and athletes in general) have won competitions in both sprint and long-distance events. Heiden is the only athlete in the history of speed skating to have won all five events in a single Olympic tournament and the only one to have won a gold medal in all events. He is considered by some to be the best overall speed skater (short and long distances) in the sport's history. Heiden ranked No. 46 in ESPN's SportsCentury 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century in 1999, the only speed skater to make the list. In 2000, a Dutch newspaper called him the greatest skater ever.

4. Nancy Kerrigan (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 50.36, Nancy Kerrigan is the 4th most famous American Skater. Her biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Nancy Ann Kerrigan (born October 13, 1969) is an American former figure skater. She won bronze medals at the 1991 World Championships and the 1992 Winter Olympics, silver medals at the 1992 World Championships and the 1994 Winter Olympics, as well as the 1993 US National Figure Skating Championship. Kerrigan was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2004. On January 6, 1994, an assailant used a police baton to strike Kerrigan on her landing knee; the attacker was hired by the ex-husband of her rival Tonya Harding. The attack injured Kerrigan, but she quickly recovered. Harding and Kerrigan both participated in the 1994 Winter Olympics, but after the Games, Harding was permanently banned from competitive figure skating. At the Olympics, Kerrigan won the silver medal in a controversial showdown with gold medal winner Oksana Baiul. She then started touring and performed with several ice skating troupes that included Champions on Ice and Broadway on Ice. In 2017, she was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars.

5. Charles Jewtraw (1900 - 1996)

With an HPI of 48.28, Charles Jewtraw is the 5th most famous American Skater. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Charles Jewtraw (May 5, 1900 – January 26, 1996) was an American speed skater, who won the first gold medal (in the 500 m) at the first Winter Olympics in 1924; he finished eighth in the 1500 m and 13th in the 5000 m events. Jewtraw won national titles in 1921 and 1923 and held the national record in 100 yards at 9.4 seconds. After the 1924 Games he retired from competitions and moved to New York, where he became a representative for the Spalding Sporting Goods Company. Jewtraw moved to Palm Beach, Florida, where he died in January 1996 at 95 years of age. He was married to Natalie, who died in November 1994. Jewtraw's gold medal is now located in the Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

6. Peggy Fleming (b. 1948)

With an HPI of 46.82, Peggy Fleming is the 6th most famous American Skater. Her biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Peggy Gale Fleming (born July 27, 1948) is an American former figure skater. She is the 1968 Winter Olympic Champion in the ladies' singles, being the only American gold medalist at these Games, and a three-time World Champion (1966–1968) in the same event. Fleming has been a television commentator in figure skating for over 20 years, including at several Winter Olympic Games.

7. Terry McDermott (1940 - 2023)

With an HPI of 45.87, Terry McDermott is the 7th most famous American Skater. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Richard Terrance McDermott (September 20, 1940 – May 20, 2023), nicknamed The Essexville Rocket, was an American gold and silver medal-winning Olympic speed skater. McDermott was a surprise winner in the 500 m at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck when he beat the favorite in that distance, two-time defending Olympic champion Yevgeny Grishin, by half a second. His coach at the time was Leo Freisinger, the 500 m bronze medal winner of the 1936 Winter Olympics. McDermott's international career consisted exclusively of the 500 m at the Olympic Winter Games of 1960, 1964 and 1968. In 1968 he skated in unfavorable conditions, late in the day when the sun melted the ice. Yet he finished only 0.2 seconds behind the winner. McDermott was inducted in the National Speedskating Hall of Fame on June 4, 1977. At the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, McDermott took the Olympic Oath representing the judges. McDermott worked as a barber from 1963 to 1967, and after that as a manufacturer's representative in the Detroit area. In parallel he served as a speed skating official. On February 9, 1964, he was a guest on The Ed Sullivan Show, an appearance that was overshadowed by the first U.S. performance of The Beatles. He resided in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He was married to Virginia, and has five children and an elder sister Marilyn. McDermott died on May 20, 2023, at the age of 82.

8. Tenley Albright (b. 1935)

With an HPI of 45.84, Tenley Albright is the 8th most famous American Skater. Her biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Tenley Emma Albright (born July 18, 1935) is an American former figure skater and surgeon. She is the 1956 Olympic champion, the 1952 Olympic silver medalist, the 1953 and 1955 World Champion, the 1953 and 1955 North American champion, and the 1952–1956 U.S. national champion. Albright is also a graduate of Harvard Medical School. In 2015, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

9. David Jenkins (b. 1936)

With an HPI of 45.39, David Jenkins is the 9th most famous American Skater. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

David Wilkinson Jenkins (born June 29, 1936) is an American former figure skater. He is the 1960 Olympic champion, the 1956 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World champion, and a four-time U.S. national champion.

10. Carol Heiss (b. 1940)

With an HPI of 45.11, Carol Heiss is the 10th most famous American Skater. Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Carol Elizabeth Heiss Jenkins (born January 20, 1940) is an American former figure skater and actress. Competing in ladies' singles, she became the 1960 Olympic champion, the 1956 Olympic silver medalist, and a five-time World champion (1956–1960).

People

Pantheon has 70 people classified as American skaters born between 1893 and 2000. Of these 70, 61 (87.14%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living American skaters include Tonya Harding, Tony Hawk, and Eric Heiden. The most famous deceased American skaters include Charles Jewtraw, Terry McDermott, and Ken Henry. As of April 2024, 9 new American skaters have been added to Pantheon including Jeanne Ashworth, James Grogan, and Linda Fratianne.