One of my favorite male skaters.
Born October 22, 1963 and lives in California.
At the age of eight,
Boitano began taking skating lessons from Linda Leaver, who remained his only coach. He quickly gained a
reputation as a fine
technical skater and an
exceptional jumper, executing the first
triple axel at the 1982 U.S. championships and all six triple jumps at the 1983 world championships. He finished fifth at his first
Olympics in Sarajevo,
Yugoslavia (now in
Bosnia and Herzegovina), in 1984. He won four consecutive U.S. championships in 1985-88; in two of those years, 1986 and 1988, he won the world championship title as well.
His loss to
Canadian Brian Orser at the 1987 world championships pushed Boitano to incorporate more
artistry into his skating. At the 1988
Winter Games in Calgary, Alberta,
Canada,
Boitano displayed a new emotional energy and flair in his skating. He entered the free-skating
competition with only a slight lead over Orser, who had placed first in the short program. Boitano gave a near-flawless performance in the long program and edged out Orser for the gold medal on a 5-4 vote by the judges. Boitano and speed skater
Bonnie Blair were the only American gold medalists at the 1988 Games.
After his
Olympic triumph, Boitano skated for television specials and, through
White Canvas, a production company he formed with others, both directed and produced televised skating shows. He returned to Olympic competition at the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer,
Norway, and finished sixth.