What These Iconic Olympians From The 1990s Look Like Today

For many athletes, taking part in the Olympics is the pinnacle of their career. They spend years training and competing in order to make it to the world stage. While just qualifying is a big deal for most of these men and women, the possibility of becoming an Olympic champion is the cherry on top. During the 1990s, several athletes from around the world made waves on Olympic stages in Barcelona, Spain, and Albertville, France (1992); Lillehammer, Norway (1994); Atlanta, Georgia (1996); and Nagano, Japan (1998).

These elite athletes were involved in a variety of summer and winter sports, from figure skating and gymnastics to tennis and basketball. Some of these individuals broke records based on their age or race. Others were already popular champions who dominated their chosen sports seemingly without blinking an eye. The Olympics represent hard work, determination, and skill. Only the best of the best compete. And almost always, there's a story behind their successes and travails that endears them to the international community — or makes them villains for decades to come. Check out what some of the top '90s Olympic champions look like today (and what they've been up to since standing on the podium).

While Lipinski took home the gold medal at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan, Michelle Kwan, 17, took home the silver medal, and she also captivated people's hearts during the competition. Kwan followed up her silver-medal performance with a bronze medal at the 2002 games in Salt Lake City (while also winning five World Champion titles and nine U.S. Champion titles, according to E!). Kwan told E! that she started dreaming of going to the Olympics when she was just 7 years old, and when she finally realized her dream 10 years later, it practically took her breath away. She said the once-in-a-lifetime event was unforgettable: "It's such an emotional, two week experience because you envision this since you were a baby."

So, what is Kwan, who is of Chinese American descent, doing in her post-skating career? She spends part of her time supporting fellow members of the Asian American Pacific Islander community, which became the target of escalating racist acts during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also released a special on YouTube called "Recipe for Change" that centers on the Asian community.

Gymnast Dominique Dawes, born in 1976, is another history maker. She was the first African American to earn an individual medal in an individual gymnastics competition at the Olympics. She has four Olympic medals and is one of just three American women to compete at three different Olympics. She won a team bronze medal in 1992, an individual bronze medal and a team gold medal in 1996, and a team bronze medal in 2000, according to Olympics.com. 

She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland in 2002 and has acted, modeled, and worked as the president of the Women's Sports Federation. She played cheerleader Patty Simcox in the Broadway musical "Grease" and appeared in a music video for Prince. Dawes is currently the mother of four children and is the owner of the Dominique Dawes Gymnastics Academy in Clarksburg, Maryland. She said of her gym, "I couldn't be more proud to build a community to empower and positively encourage today's generation of gymnasts and beyond."

Kristi Yamaguchi won a gold medal for figure skating at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, making her the first Asian American woman to win the coveted gold medal at the Winter Olympics. During the early '90s, the sport traditionally drew white competitors from the United States and Europe. These days it's not uncommon to see skaters of Asian descent, but during Yamaguchi's Olympic run, it was not as prevalent, according to The Washington Post. The Japanese American woman, who was 20 when she won the gold medal, led the way for athletes such as Michelle Kwan and Nathan Chen, who would go on to have their own successful Olympic experiences.

Yamaguchi's medal win was overshadowed by the 50th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and economic tensions between the U.S. and Japan, which Yamaguchi believes is why she didn't receive the kind of endorsements other athletes tended to get. However, she was greatly admired by her peers and fans, and her trailblazing ways paved the way for other Asian Americans. "You don't get a Nathan Chen without a Michelle Kwan, and you don't get a Michelle Kwan without Kristi," noted Barbara Reichert, a spokeswoman with U.S. Figure Skating. "[Kristi] helped to open the door."

Gymnast Kerri Strug competed in her first Olympics when she was 14 years old. She was the youngest competitor at the event in Barcelona, according to her official website. But it was her reappearance at the games four year later that would cement her place in Olympic history. She competed at the 1996 games in Atlanta and hurt her ankle on the vault event during the team competition. Some athletes would have quit, but Strug was determined to keep going. Undeterred by the injury, she attempted a second vault and stuck the landing before crumpling to the ground in agony. Her actions helped the team get the gold medal, and her never-give-up attitude captivated the American public.

She later attended UCLA and Stanford, earning a master's degree in sociology, according to Olympics.com. Strug became an elementary school teacher before becoming a staff assistant with the U.S. Office of Presidential Student Correspondence. She has also worked at the General Counsel Office in the Treasury Department and the Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. As of November 2021, Strug was 44 years old. She has two children.

While not exactly an icon, you can't disclude Tonya Harding from a list of famous Olympians from the '90s. Unlike most of her skating peers, Harding came from a poor family and excelled on talent alone. She was the first woman to complete a triple axel during the short program, the first woman to do two triple axels in a program, and the first woman to pull off a triple axel combination with a double toe loop during the Skate America competition in 1987, according to Olympics.com. Harding competed in the 1992 Olympics, coming in fourth place, and had her sights set on the 1994 games. Her biggest competition was Nancy Kerrigan, who wasn't as good of a jumper but who was an excellent skater nonetheless.

As we already noted, Harding's associates developed a plan they hoped would prevent Kerrigan from attending the 1994 games. Kerrigan was hit in the leg with a metal baton at the U.S. Nationals in Detroit. Harding ended up winning the event, which allowed her to qualify for the Olympics. She didn't get away with the attack and had to pay a fine and perform community service. She was also allowed to compete in Norway but ended up in eighth place, even after she was given a do-over for having a problem with her skate lace. Kerrigan ended up with the silver medal, losing to Ukrainian Oksana Baiul.

Canadian figure skater Elvis Stojko has participated in four Olympic games. He won silver medals in 1994 and 1998. He competed at the 1992 games, but he finished in seventh place, according to Britannica. His story is notable because he was expected to clinch the gold at the '98 games in Nagano, Japan. Unfortunately, he badly injured his groin, which made it challenging to compete. He was able to win second place despite the pain and became a Canadian national hero, according to Stars on Ice. Stojko continued to skate in competitions and appeared at the 2002 Olympic games in Salt Lake City, Utah, finishing in eighth place. He retired from amateur competition a short time later.

He has had an active life ever since and has dabbled in many different non-skating-related projects. He doubled for Robin Williams during a figure skating scene in "Death to Smoochy." He played himself on an episode of "The Simpsons." He's appeared in a handful of theater productions and won a silver medal at a world kung fu competition. Stojko also created a wine line, and he's an avid kart racer.