Figure Skates worn by Brian Boitano at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada

Black shoe skates with metal blade attched and blue fabric skate guards over the blades. Brian Boitano wore these figure skates in his gold medal skate at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. The skates feature an American flag appliqué which the manufacturer, Harlick, had sewn on to the boot believing that it would bring Boitano good luck. Boitano continues to wear skates adorned with the flag. Metal skate blade are attached to the bottom of the foot; rubber foam padding on inside of boot tongue; blue cloth cover attached to each skate blade. Brian Boitano (b. 1963) was the first American figure skater to land a triple axel. He also invented the “Tano triple lutz” jump where he raises his left arm above his head while completing a triple lutz. He was a four-time U.S. National Champion (1985-88) as well as a two-time World Champion (1986 and 1988). His time skating in the Calgary Olympics was referred to as the “Battle of the Brians” due to the fierce competition between Boitano and Canadian figure skater Brian Orser. The gold and silver medals came down to a tie breaker which was won by Boitano because he received higher marks for technical merit by the two judges who had given Boitano and Orser tied scores overall. In December 2013, Boitano came out publicly as gay after being appointed by President Obama to the U.S. delegation for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

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