Dorothy Hamill is a retired American Olympic figure skater. Hamill's first national success came in 1969, when she won the novice ladies' title at the U.S. Championships at the age of 12. Later that spring, Hamill was invited to perform in Madison Square Garden with the exhibition tour (in later years known as Champions on Ice) that followed the 1969 World Figure Skating Championships.

Hamill was U.S. champion from 1974 to 1976. At the 1974 World Championships in Munich, Germany, she was in 3rd place after the compulsory figures and the short program. She was set to skate directly after the West German skater Gerti Schanderl, whose marks were booed while Hamill was already on the ice. Visibly upset, Hamill left the ice and burst into tears. After the crowd settled down, she returned to the ice and won the silver medal behind Christine Errath of East Germany. The next year she finished in second again, but this time Errath finished third. She is the 1976 Olympic champion and 1976 World champion in ladies' singles. 

Hamill is credited with developing a new skating move, a camel spin that turns into a sit spin, which became known as the "Hamill camel. Hamill was a mentor to 2010 U.S. national champion Rachael Flatt.