Brian Boitano

Few athletes have enjoyed the artistic and popular success that figure skater Brian Boitano has achieved since winning the gold medal for the United States at the 1988 Winter Olympics Games in Calgary, Canada.

Boitano's skating is characterized by power, precision, consistency and emotion. He created and routinely performs his signature jump, the Tano Triple, so difficult it has rarely been completed by anyone else. In competitions and exhibitions, Boitano continues to raise the level of skating to new heights. He was the first American male athlete to have his own network television special, Canvas of Ice, which aired worldwide and was seen nationally on the ABC Network. The critically acclaimed special won awards in the International Film and Television Festival of New York and the Chicago International Film Festival.

Boitano was an Olympic alternate in 1980 and a member of the '84, '88 and '94 U.S. Olympic teams. After turning professional in 1988, Boitano won six world professional titles, placing first and scoring perfect 10s in each of ten consecutive professional championships. As a professional, he won the first 20 out of the 24 competitions he entered, a record unmatched in the history of skating. He has taken a leadership role among professional skaters and his efforts have changed the face of professional skating, raising its standard beyond any level seen in the sport’s history.

Boitano won a primetime Emmy Award, television's highest honor, for his starring role in the HBO movie Carmen on Ice. He and fellow Olympic gold medalist Katarina Witt toured North America in three successful ice shows: Skating, Skating II and Skating '92, which were broadcast on network TV. In 1994, he starred in Nutcracker on Ice with Oksana Baiul and Viktor Petrenko. For 15 years he toured with Champions On Ice around the country, headlining 25 national tours. Boitano has provided expert commentary on televised skating shows for ABC, NBC and Turner networks.

Boitano's book, Boitano's Edge: Inside the Real World of Figure Skating, is considered one of the finest skating books ever published.

In 1995, Boitano founded White Canvas Productions to create figure skating shows for both live and television audiences. More than twenty White Canvas specials have aired on NBC, USA Networks and TNT. On January 1, 2010 NBC will air the Brian Boitano Skating Spectacular.

Boitano began his figure skating career in 1972 at the age of eight. After viewing a performance of Ice Follies, he traded his roller skates for ice skates and was enrolled in group lessons taught by Linda Leaver. She immediately realized his potential and suggested private lessons. Thus began a remarkable partnership which has lasted 30 years and continues to flourish with Linda also serving as Boitano's personal manager.

At 14, while still in high school, he became the U.S. Junior Men's Champion. Boitano gained world recognition when he was 19 as the first skater to complete all six different triple jumps in a World Championship. He placed fifth in the 1984 Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo and won the first of four consecutive U.S. Men’s titles in 1985.

In total, Boitano, a three-time Olympian, has won more than 50 titles, including 23 international gold medals, two World titles, two Pro/AM titles, 16 professional titles, four U.S. National titles, as well as the Olympic Gold Medal. Boitano has been inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame, the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame, and the National Italian-American Hall of Fame.

He is one of the founding members of the National Safe Kids Campaign Entertainment Alliance and is also a member of the Public Awareness Council of the American Cancer Society.

In 1998, Boitano founded Youth Skate, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to introduce San Francisco's inner-city youth to the sport of ice skating. Since its inaugural year, more than 6000 children aged 5 to 15 have participated. Now in its twelfth season, the charity continues to grow with Boitano as an active participant.

With a lifelong passion for food and cooking, Boitano began a new series on Food Network called "What Would Brian Boitano Make?" in August 2009. In the series, Boitano takes viewers on a reality cooking adventure as he creates amazing food for a new event in each episode focusing on innovative but accessible dishes.