The only member of his family to ice skate, Boitano fell in love with the sport when his parents took him to see the Ice Capades when he was eight years old. He tried to do the jumps and spins he had seen in the show on his roller skates, scaring both his neighbors and parents. So that he would receive proper training, his parents took him to a local ice rink for lessons.
Quick learner
His first and only teacher has been Linda Leaver who spotted Boitano's talent immediately, telling Sports Illustrated: "I thought he'd be great right away.... I used to keep charts on every student, with my predictions and expectations for them. Though Boitano was only eight, I went home and told my husband that one day he'd be the world champion." At eight years of age Boitano won first prize in his very first competition. By the age of 12 he had won 17 regional medals. In 1978 he won the U.S. junior men's championship and despite all the practice necessary for competition in figure skating, Boitano was an honors student at Peterson High School.
The first time he competed in the World Figure Skating Championship in 1983, Boitano became the first skater to successfully complete six different triple jumps and finished fifth in the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.
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