Bill Johnson Sarajevo '84 Gold in Downhill Skiing, first ever for the USA in the long history of the discipline. Very different than being #1 in a USA invented sport like snowboarding. This survey is skewed as it does not include all possibilities and therefore excludes the all-time best by default.

Oksana Baiul's 1994 Olympic performances were the greatest performances by a winter Olympian I'd seen. Sure I remember Heiden as the most dominant. But Baiul was ethreal and tough as steel at the same time. People don't realize how Technically innovative & superior her skills were at those games. I saw her in person and her jumping and artistic skills were mindblowing. She could transport you to another realm. Her triple jumps were bigger more powerful the the mens! Too bad US figureskating resented her gold medal win but it was so gutsy and well-deserved. There has been no one like her since. Baiul never got any respect or credit for what she did for figureskating. Her contributions were very much maligned. She was the reason for the pro boom in the us. Lots of us went to all of her early performances. We watched her on tv too. She wasn't treated well like other ice queens. But extrodinary Olympic star.

All the Winter Olympians won my enormous respect and admiration.
Only one I miss, forever, Michelle Kwan.
If anyone has a set of DVD recording of her performances, and is generous enough to share, I would be deeply appreciative, with reward in kind. Yonosay2003@yahoo.con

i voted for shaun white. i think most of the people who read this magazine are older. (i'm 64 and i found this copy in the activities room of a senior apt. bldg.) and they vote for who they know, which doesn't include the x-games. (guess i'm just young at heart...)

but i still feel shaun showed a lot of olympic pride. he didn't have to do the second run, he'd already won the gold, but he said that everyone has to do two runs and he was no exception. he said: "this is the OLYMPICS!" great respect from a young guy. a lot of older athletics would have let it go. imagine his own surprise, when he topped himself!

as for figure skating...scott hamilton. he has done more for the sport than any other skater. (a lot of behind the scenes help, as well.) after two cancers, he is now skating again. you go, scotty!

God bless.

peggy is amazing!!!

Now its 2% cause of me.......I love him..I'm like the biggest(well not exactly) fan ever!!!!!!!!!! <3 I love 'em!! :) :D

Scott Hamilton is my favorite Winter Olympian. That was the first Winter Olympics I remember watching, and I still remember watching him win gold. Scotty has done more for figure skating than the rest of them combined. He deserves more recognition than 5% of the vote.

First off -- please note that the poll is for US WINTER champions only; a number of 'greats' that have been mentioned are either not Americans, or were not from the Winter games. For my choice: All the choices are good, and while I admire the other skaters ... Scotty for the win!!! I've adored Scott Hamilton since before the Olympics, and I keep watching the ice skating now because he is NBC's perennial commentator. And I will never forget his 'comeback' performance, after beating cancer -- he did his signature backflip, did the "YES!" gesture, then skated to center ice and declared, "I'm back!" with tears in his eyes. And there was not a dry eye in the audience that night either.

I voted for Dorothy Hamill. But I also love Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, who skated to "Bolero" in 1984. and Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, who had to withdraw from the 1980 Olympics due to injury. Both pairs were inspiring and absolutely wonderful to watch!

This isn't even close - Eric Heiden! Five Golds! Winning every race from the sprint to the equivalent of a marathon.

Tenley Albright was my role model when I was in my teens. She was a bright, young woman with terrific talent. Fortunately, I have her autograph. What an inspiration she was for me!

Gotta go with the 1980 hockey team!!

Folks, this poll is for favorite US WINTER Olympian.

While the list of Olympians is impressive, some names were left off. Torville & Dean, Gordeeva & Grinkov, Viktor Petrenko, Oksana Baiul,Carl Lewis, Mark Spitz, Jessie Owens, May Lou Retton, The entire Women's Gymnastics Team From 1996, the list could go on forever! I have enjoyed looking through the photos and articles and look forward to the start of the Vancouver Olympics tomorrow night!

There stood Dorothy Hamill, with boos from the crowd over judging of the previous skater almost unnerving her. But she took to the ice and showed us grace, power, and athleticism - all with the most adorable smile. She embodied the best of American spirit. Many times in my life I have been unsure in front of others, but have taken a deep breath, smiled, and moved forward - just like Dorothy. I've always been glad I saw her performance that day.