2002 Olympic figure skating champion Sarah Hughes, 38, has never been afraid of challenging herself on and off the ice.
Her latest pursuit is to become a United States Congresswoman.
Hughes filed paperwork on Monday, May 15 indicating her intent to run as a Democrat in the 2024 election for the 4th District of New York.
NY CD-4. Attorney Sarah Hughes (D) – who won the gold medal in figure skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics – becomes the 4th Dem to enter the race vs freshman US Rep Anthony D'Esposito (R).
— Politics1.com (@Politics1com) May 15, 2023
She was born and raised in Great Neck, New York, and is motivated to run because she “is concerned about where we’re headed, whether it’s rising prices, public safety and gun violence, or threats to women’s health.”
A formal announcement is expected in the coming weeks.
Hughes’s Path To Olympic Glory
Hughes started figure skating as a very young girl.
At the 2002 Olympics as a sixteen-year-old, she was not expected to be in the running for Olympic gold.
Perennial U.S. favorite Michelle Kwan, 21, and Russian Irina Slutskaya, 23, were the frontrunners at the February 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Hughes became the first woman competing in the Olympics to land two triple-triple jump combinations in the free skate.
Her victory is still considered one of the biggest surprises in Olympic history and despite being confident of her chances, the jubilant look on her face after learning that she won Olympic gold indicates she was a bit surprised also.
Hughes retired from competitive skating in 2003.
She is the last American woman to win Olympic figure skating gold.
Hughes was among the trio of females to become Olympic champions over a ten-year span beginning with Kristi Yamaguchi in 1992 and Tara Lipinski in 1998.
Higher Education Was Important
Even as a teenager competing on the worldwide stage, Hughes knew education was a priority in her post-skating life.
The Ivy League called, and Hughes earned an undergraduate degree at Yale.
She continued her studies and earned a law degree from Penn.
Hughes is currently working on graduate degrees in business and education at Stanford.
Conclusion
She continues to be a trailblazer twenty years after her skating career officially ended.
Hughes would be the first Winter Olympian to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives if she wins.
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