The women's free skate at the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, is still the seventh-most-watched television broadcast in history (excluding Super Bowls).

Nancy Kerrigan sought redemption after a disastrous free skate at the 1993 World Championships in Prague, where she missed the podium.

Standing on top of the 1993 World Championships podium was 15-year-old Oksana Baiul: the newcomer representing Ukraine a year and a half after its independence from the Soviet Union.

In Lillehammer, Baiul was on top yet again. At 16 years old — and by the slimmest of margins — the artistic phenomenon became Ukraine's second Olympic champion (after Viktor Petrenko in 1992).

Fans remember it like it was yesterday … but it was 32 years ago.

And it was also 32 years ago that Baiul moved from Odessa, Ukraine, to Simsbury, Connecticut. She has resided in the United States ever since.

In retrospect, fans remember Baiul as the 16-year-old spitfire whose raw power, balletic style, and enchanting charisma were unlike anything we'd seen before.
But today, Baiul is on a new journey — one that brings her "a tremendous amount of happiness and joy," she said.

Baiul, 48, works as a coach in Las Vegas. And as of 2026, she's a newly minted competitive adult skater — the first Olympic champion ever to do so.

"Adopted by America"

Baiul arrived in the United States after winning the 1994 Olympics, and she never left.

"I grew up as a Soviet and won the gold medal for Ukraine. But in my heart, I've always loved Madonna and Michael Jackson," she said.

In 1993, Tom Collins invited Baiul to join his Champions On Ice tour. She toured the U.S. with her compatriot Petrenko, as well as several American skating legends.

"I've been adopted by America," Baiul said. "My mom died, my father was absent, and I held onto a pair of skates my entire life. The people in America have become my family."

Baiul first arrived in Las Vegas in 2014.

"I wanted to live in a good climate, and Vegas is the capital of the entertainment business! I loved it right away," she said.

Baiul left Vegas from 2022–24 and lived in Shreveport, Louisiana. When her 10-year marriage ended in divorce, she returned to the Western city that she loved.

"When we got divorced, we came back to Vegas to raise our daughter, Sophia. She primarily lives with my ex-husband, but I regularly see her," she said.

A passion for coaching

In October 2025, Baiul attended a Sk8 to Elimin8 Cancer event at City National Arena. There, she felt inspired to be part of the local skating community.

"It was a new beginning for me," Baiul said. "Deciding to become a coach was when I started making peace with myself."

Baiul reached out to Carolyn Mortenson, the senior director of skating programs for the Vegas Golden Knights, who hired Baiul to coach Learn to Skate USA, Aspire and hockey clinics.

"She's one of my best coaches," Mortenson said. "She has such a wealth of knowledge."

Mortenson has known Baiul since 2021.

"She's an amazing person who will work with any level of skater," Mortenson said. "She's very supportive of our club and our skaters."

The inspiration to compete

At 2025 Skate Vegas, Baiul's friend and coaching colleague Laurian Nash made a comeback to competitive skating.

"To able to train and get back to where you can skate a two-minute program is awesome. I watched Laurian do that for herself," Mortenson said.

Six months prior to 2026 Skate Vegas, Nash invited Baiul to compete with her in the senior elite pro-am lyrical pop event.

"She said: 'Come on! Compete with me!'" Baiul remembered. "I was like, 'Laurian, are you insane?' And she was like, 'No, you're gonna do great!' I said: 'OK.' And you know what? I'm so blessed."

It had been nearly 20 years since Baiul had performed for an audience.

"I wasn't nervous! This was the first time in my life where I skated and I was really just enjoying it," Baiul said.

She performed to two pieces of music: "The Show Must Go On" by Queen, which was Tom Collins' favorite band, and "Swan Lake," which was the soundtrack of her Olympic short program (Black Swan) and her Olympic gala program (White Swan).

"The program is in memory of Tom Collins [who died in 2019], but it's also about going back to Swan Lake. I introduced the skating world to the Black Swan and White Swan characters!"

Mortenson recalled, "Lots of people were watching and cheering her on. I had never seen her perform live before."
Baiul finished in second place.

"Adult skating is a new world to me and I absolutely love it," Baiul said. "It doesn't feel like a competition anymore; it's different from what I was doing before. It's more about friendships. I did it for me. I tried to do exactly what I've been teaching my students. I tell them about learning to fall, get up, and do it again."
 
Baiul is the third Olympic medalist to compete in an adult competition.
 
1992 Olympic silver medalist Midori Ito first competed at the ISU Adult Competition in Oberstdorf, Germany, in 2011, and has returned several times. 2006 Olympic bronze medalist Ruslan Goncharov competed at the 2021 U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships, where he won the championship adult dance title with Barbora Bowser.
 
Baiul has known Goncharov since she was 7 years old, and they share a hometown of Odessa.
 
"My dear, dear friend Ruslan! I'm so proud of him," Baiul said.
 
What the future holds
After nearly two decades outside of the sport, Baiul is happy to be home.
 
"I will compete again!" she said confidently. "I never felt like I could be a part of U.S. Figure Skating, but now that I am, things have turned upside down in the best way. It's been the most rewarding feeling; it means so much to me."
 
Baiul plans to continue coaching in Vegas and will be traveling to Rockford, Illinois, for a skating clinic on July 17.
 
"I love doing new things and leaving my comfort zone," she said. "It gets hard, then you walk through it, and there's a huge reward at the end of the road."