Olympic gold medalist’s home video skating on frozen Louisiana patio goes viral; Oksana Baiul and daughter share memories

Published 9:37 am Wednesday, January 17, 2024

When you’re an Olympic gold medalist figure skater living in the Deep South, finding ice on which to skate can be a problem sometimes.

But for 1994 Olympic champion Oksana Baiul, she found an outlet this week on our own back patio after a winter storm blanketed parts of the South with snow and ice.

Baiul, who now lives in Shreveport, Louisiana, became a household name in the 1990s after she became the 1993 World Champion for ladies’ figure skating and the next year claimed the Olympic Gold Medalist in ladies’ singles.

She was the first Olympian to win an Olympic Gold Medal for her home country Ukraine after the country separated from the former Soviet Union.

Baiul wowed social media followers this week after posting a video showing her skating with her daughter on their ice-covered back patio.

“Who’s having more fun in Louisiana, Shreveport, more than me,” Baiul says in the video before she and her young daughter begin spinning around on the icy patio.

The sweet video had garnered thousands of views and comments by Wednesday.

Many of the commenters were simply shocked at learning the famous Olympian skater actually lived in Louisiana these days.

“Every person in Louisiana: ‘Oksana Baiul lives in SHREVEPORT?!?!'”

“Who had Okansa Baiul living in Shreveport on their bingo card?”

You can see Baiul’s video here: