Book Brian Boitano

Brian Boitano, the 1988 Olympic men's champion, is an American figure skating legend raised in Sunnyvale, California. He dominated his era, winning the U.S. national title four straight years from 1985 to 1988 and the World Championship in 1986 and 1988. As a junior he won the national junior title in 1978 and took bronze at the World Junior Championships that year, edging future rival Brian Orser. Boitano was a technical pioneer: in 1982 he landed the first triple Axel by an American, at the 1983 World Championships he landed all six types of triple jump in competition, a first for any skater, and in 1987 he unveiled his signature "Boitano triple Lutz," performed with one arm raised overhead. His duel with Orser at the 1988 Calgary Games became one of the sport's most celebrated rivalries. He turned professional after the 1988 season, then returned to Olympic competition under new eligibility rules and placed sixth at the 1994 Winter Olympics. In 1996 he entered both the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame, and he has received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.