Men's Award Ceremony - 1988 Calgary, Figure Skating, Men's Long Program (US ABC)

Calgary, Alberta, CANADA - 1988 Winter Games - Men's Award Ceremony, where Gold went to Brian Boitano of the United States, Silver to Brian Orser of Canada, and Bronze to Viktor Petrenko of the Soviet Union.

[@theresabollman8061]

All these years later I still love Brian Boitano...He is the sweetest soul.

[@krisfujimoto72]

Brian is still so relevant!

[@bonnielucas153]

I remember Victor was such a dude 😎

[@dawnchute7449]

Agreed he is the best!!

[@theresabollman8061]

@@dawnchute7449 Yes, and like ssomeothers he does not go around saying he should have won. Brian B was perfect this time and so manyother times and did not get graded accodingly...he never says a words. Runs out there the shake the hand of the "winner". He is a great man! God bless him.

[@ejpaprocki8995]

Glorious time in the sport’s history….how gracious are they all? The audience, Boitano, and Orser. Their behavior should be an example for everyone.

[@bellazoe1]

This was a prizefight. The whole world stopped for this one.

[@Pickleleen]

I'll never forget this glorious moment. I'm so proud of our athletes. Well done, BOTH Brians!! And a very young Viktor Petrenko!

[@safehaven11]

This was one of the greatest moments in Olympic history. It was wonderful. The Battle of the Brians. Thank you for posting this.

[@Kavi_Sedai]

Orser did an amazing job. I’m sorry he wasn’t able to take home the gold for his hosting country. But boitano was simply brilliant and deserved it. So proud of him, even to this day. I remember watching this live. Fantastic.

[@theresabollman8061]

Brian B's sweet face during the American Anthem...unforgettable.

[@cards0486]

Poor Brian Orser. Silver medal in 1984, Silver medal in 1988. Well, it couldn’t have been much closer. And “The Brians” have continues to be adored all these years. Both of them were beautiful to watch.

[@mht4908]

He would’ve won the gold over Scott Hamilton in 84 had he not placed 7th in compulsories. But at the same time, he’s a legend of his own, not only in skating, but coaching multiple people into Olympic and World Champions

[@erinjohnson1124]

It’s all good. Orser is incredible in my book, and the fact that he’s responsible for two Olympic/World champions Kim Yuna & Yuzuru Hanyu, and two time world champ and Olympic bronze Javier Fernández, his credentials are plentiful at this point.

[@beeharbour]

It should not have been as close as it was.

[@xxwhispersxx2856]

Everyone already beat me to it, Brian Orser never won gold but he's produced so many champions already.

[@bonnielucas153]

I watched it all. I was a young mother of two tiny kids. Now I am 63 and my kids are mid30's.

[@purrformance]

I wish skaters dressed like this today...

[@stacywiley9252]

I remember in 1988 I was a Senior in high school in New York City when the battle of the Brain's was my moment to remember!

[@Venera-j3i]

Самая прекрасная олимпиада. Без скандалов, без выпендрежа. Я ребенком ее смотрела. Мне было 13 лет. Все достойные победили.

[@user-kf6zg1pq3u]

Все достойные чемпионы по праву. Катя и Сергей,Наташа и Андрей.Брайен и Катарина. И их тренеры по праву горды своими учениками. Какой Виктор юный.Ему тут почти 18 лет.

[@user-yn1uw6yx7t]

@@user-kf6zg1pq3u да приятно,когда Победа не вызывает сомнений, тут именно так!🎉👏👏👏

[@xxwhispersxx2856]

I love how supportive the teammates used to be of each other. Now everyone is so cutthroat.

[@mariehernandez5878]

Three wonderful skaters!

[@CygnusTheSilly]

What would Brian Boitano do if he was hers today? I'm sure he'd win a medal or two That's what Brian Boitano'd do

[@theresabollman8061]

They tried to giver Orser a sneaky break. But God said..."Oh no ya don't!" Let's face it Brian Boitano was the best.

[@BogdanaBDN]

Тогда так переживали за Орсера, обидно было. У него ТАКИЕ программы!!! У Бойтано в ПП проезд на двух ногах через всю площадку, даже удивление вызвало...У Орсера таких пустот не было. Видно, что расстроен....Зато тренером стал выдающимся..Спасибо ему за его учеников - ХАНЮ, Фернандеса, Ким....

[@lorrem2539]

I remember before cable TV was in every home how exciting it was to watch the olympics. Every 4 years both summer and winter games! Now they are almost forgotten because there are so many other things to watch and they’ve changed the format to every 2 years 1 season then 2 years the other season. I miss when they were a big deal!!😢

[@mannbradmusic]

Very nice presentation and for the benefit, convenience and information of you and others who view this and to refresh your memory, the words of our national anthem were written by Francis Scott Key in the aftermath of the British attack on Baltimore's Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 when he saw the American flag still waving over the fort that morning and below are Mr. Key's words if you want to look them over while listening or sing along as you stand with your hand over your heart. The anthem begins at the 5:58 mark. O say, can you see, By the dawn's early light, what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, o'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@Kavi_Sedai]

Oh man! And don’t ever forget about petrenko and his bronze! 18 years old. These were certainly the greatest up there on those platforms. Proud of all 3.

[@alexeydymov5602]

Он был лучший из тройки

[@Maria-mz1qw]

Awesome! It's so clear! Thank you!❤️

[@bettycunicelli8552]

Brian Boitano...💖💖💖

[@beeharbour]

The Winter Olympics used to be such a relatively small event compared to the Summer affair. I believe the US won only one other gold in "88, by Bonnie Blair in speed-skating. The letter "B" was wild.

[@klientqwe3505]

Жалко Орсера, чуточку ошибся в главном сложном прыжке, а так идеально можно сказать откатал. Его скольжение превосходило остальных.

[@msmo2060]

They look like extras from return of the Jedi

[@bonnielucas153]

Such handsome dudes, all champions. I had rather a crush on Brian b☺️

[@stacyr4070]

Best dressed as well.

[@maggie2sticks717]

I am in love with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleader outfits. The other ones are kinda weird!

[@sylvialupehernandez9154]

Brian Boitano Italian American.

[@galileocan]

There was only 1 way for Boitano to win a Gold Medal; 1) Boitano had to skate perfect + 2) Orser HAD to make mistakes. Both factors had to occur for Boitano to win. Had both skated perfect or both had flaws, Orser would have won easily. But...winners are not crowned on who is best on paper, but who rises to the occasion in the moment. Boitano rose to the occasion, but he needed good luck in that the better competitor did NOT rise to the occasion.

[@Person-mh6xq]

That was the case in virtually any competition when triple axel was the pinnacle of the jump repertoire and technical content was pretty much even at the very top.

[@gretchendietz1599]

I just watched an interview between Scott Hamilton and Brian Boitano and Brian said he felt he had to be perfect, not only in the performances but in the practices. He felt he couldn't make a single mistake in order to put his name in the judges' minds that he was even deserving of a chance to be the winner. With Orser being the reigning World Champ and the Olympics being in Canada, he felt everyone was already crowning Brian Orser before the competition. Even with all that pressure, he was amazing.

[@soniahernandez5456]

El mejor Victor Petrenko

[@natasajovicic4614]

Carmen on ice!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@fizzao1342]

Baby Victor!

[@Ceridwen-mu7wd]

I had a school girl crush on Victor P.

[@captaincati8826]

Brian Orser was robbed

[@ebonylady]

No, he wasn't. Boitano won fair and square due to a superior performance. No one promised Orser a gold medal...outside of Canada.

[@bindi06]

What a telling gesture of Brian's sportsmanship when he stepped down from his top position to give Brian Orser a hug and a handshake. Evgeny Plushenko could benefit greatly from watching this.

[@booboolori9362]

What a wonderful trip down memory lane! Thank you for posting! This was my favorite Olympics! I do agree with a previous poster, I hate that they rush thru the anthem, let the winner enjoy the moment!!! Brian Boitano, Pure excellence on ice!

[@szqsk8]

How exciting for Brian Boitano! That would be so thrilling to stand on that podium wearing my Gold medal and listening to The National Anthem. I'm glad he remembered to put his hand on his heart. He did this country proud.

[@soulcornflake1]

Absolutely the best Men's Final, and the most evenly matched. It could have gone either way and whoever won would've deserved it. You can't say that most times.

[@2345678902345671]

Nah, Brian clearly won.

[@chrissyellem7397]

@@2345678902345671 lol

[@szqsk8]

Wow! Look at Viktor Petrenko. Who knew watching this he would go on yo a great career and then Johnny Weir's coach.

[@thesandqueen2559]

He has such a baby face here. So young at only 18!

[@Rachelleluluful]

Brian Orser is a real class act! All these guys were amazing though. What a showdown!

[@L1623VP]

Dick Button: "Both of them really deserving of a gold medal." Uh, no Dick. People like to focus on Orser's fall out on the triple flip as the only reason he lost the gold. Aside from Orser's fall out on the flip, downgrading his second triple axle to a double, and a hard two-foot landing on his last triple--Boitano did two triple axles, two triple flips and a triple-triple combo, all of which Orser did NOT do. Boitano crushed Orser's program not just technically but with far more mature choreography. The only reason Orser's score was so close to Boitano's is because the fix was in for Orser to win no matter how he skated. Search KZbin for the interview: Brian Boitano 2016 Interview, and hear at 17:20 Boitano's coach, Linda Leaver, tell the story of how a judge from the Calgary Games approached her and Boitano 15 years later. He said after seeing Boitano's flawless skate that night he couldn't go along with the plot to grant gold to Orser and had to do the right thing and vote honestly in favor of Boitano. She also talks about how shortly after the Games, he was fired from his federation. There should have been a MUCH wider margin of victory for Boitano, but all the judges were compromised. It was that one judge's mark that gave Boitano his rightful victory when it should have easily been the entire panel.

[@npe1]

@Icowles - Totally agree. I thought Boitano was head and shoulders better in both short and free programmes and obviously he beat Orser in figures. Personally I had Boitano first in all 3 sections.

[@L1623VP]

@@npe1 So true!

[@rowbom]

I guess there was any similar plot to give Debbi Thomas a gold medal.

[@L1623VP]

@@rowbom Aside from the fact that there is ZERO proof of that allegation, unlike the open admission from the Russian judge from the men's event, neither Thomas nor Witt were deserving of the gold. It should have gone to Liz Manly, who out-skated them both but unfortunately didn't do well in figures.

[@metsdudenj]

@@L1623VP Well she needed help from one more skater to push Katarina to third.

[@organicskating]

Having severe nostalgic ice skating moments this weekend. :-) Thanks for posting this video! I have now subscribed! Thanks again!

[@stacybeen3771]

Probably, if Orser won gold, he'd never become an excellent coach... and his students are fierce gold champions now and great skaters beating all world records. What a life. I'm happy for him.

[@muek]

I think he actually said that himself in one of his interviews.

[@Parker528]

@@muek interesting. perhaps, that was a thought of his in hindsight. But when one is so supremely grounded, just just with his excellent coaching he received, and almost decade of international sr level experience, I don't automatically DISCOUNT someone out of the realm of potentially good coaching, no matter the sport. My best swim coaches all had with them things from not only something from their past, but also the vision for the team and individual swimmers, and we almost NEVER in it as my great coaches ONLY because of something Orser and his two silvers. You have to want it- to coach. Its passion, knowledge, leadership, human experience of course, but its not something for anyone. The best coaches in swimming historically, had never even swum themselves. (George Haines of the infamous Santa Clara swim club, was NOT a swimmer). Randy Reese, the former Jacksonville Fl based coach then to Univ of Florida, who took many swimmers to many world champ and Olympic medals, to my knowledge, may have been athletic or had a phys ed bachelors degree- but to my knowledge, he never was a competitive swimmer.

[@muek]

Orser might not have won gold himself, but he has caused gold to happen.

[@elainesnow326]

muek Yes, he’s going to be the rara avis who enters the skating HOF both as a skater and as a coach, two entirely different categories and aspects. I bet there aren’t many of those - heck, Orser may even be the first.

[@safehaven11]

I love Viktor Peterenko! What talent has he got to be the next great!

[@luvvinlovelock7254]

Remembers this. They turned out great!

[@Zenbridge]

Best mens competition of all time. But the amped up, fast-paced anthem at these games never thrilled me. Give the athlete a little time to revel in it.

[@sgsmozart]

Yes...a slower tempo for the National Anthem makes the music more majestic....

[@cristinadubar2522]

Brian Orser are the Best coach!!!!!

[@keeganthorpe]

How by the time of the medal ceremony could a crowd not know by then the winner? That’s amazing to me.

[@metsdudenj]

The score board back then did not flash the overall results. Also it was very hard for the people in the crowd to figure it out based on the ordinals . There was no way they could have written down the scores that fast.

[@TheCopper05]

Different emotions for both Brians. Brian Boitano was emotional during the Anthem. Brian Orser's heart was hurting with not winning the Gold Medal. I usually do not agree with Dick Button, but he was right both deserved the Gold Medal

[@chrisg4584]

LOL omg it's Viktor Patrenko! I had no idea he competed in the 88 olympics. I was only 6 at the time, so I don't remember much if any of this. I had no idea how close it was between the Brians-the media always makes it out like Orser was constantly in Boitano's shadow, but apparently he beat him enough times, plus Boitano wasn't flawless-I'd always gotten the impression he was here. But I was happy for Viktor Patrenko in 92, I thought he really deserved it & I always really liked him, he seemed like a really nice guy who cared about the sport & other skaters.

[@organicskating]

@bindi06 Completely agree! Very sportsmanlike between them!

[@luvvinlovelock7254]

Beautiful language

[@nightswimmer99]

@szqsk8 Yeah, Johnny Weir's coach on one side and Yuna Kim's coach on the other. The torch was passed well, I think.

[@muek]

Now Orser's torch goes to Yuzuru Hanyu.

[@Rassel89]

Два Брайана и Витющка)

[@szqsk8]

Is it just me or was the National Anthem sped up? Why do they always do that? If I were standing on the podium I'd want some time to revel in it! Go Brian!

[@sgsmozart]

szqsk8 Yes....the tempo was way too fast. It should be performed with more dignity.

[@xxwhispersxx2856]

I'm pretty sure the anthem used to be that fast and they've slowed it down in recent years.

[@hidayatosman4786]

I saw ekaterina gordeeva!

[@tachor5834]

Everyone saw her 💝

[@oofahman]

Look at that freakin' hair!! LOL!! They all look much better now :)

[@innanuzhna1742]

Orser was so aggrieved and disappointed, that he even didn't congratulate Boitano?)) Boitano stepped down and gave Orser a hug. Good for him.I was never excited by Boitano as a skater, for some reason I found him quite monotone and boring but he is obviously a nice modest person. I believe Orser is a good man too, but it seems like he has never admitted his defeat in this Olympics. It must be devastating.

[@xxwhispersxx2856]

It was for him. Back to back silvers are disappointing, especially when you are the favorite to win both times and he was coming off of a World's win from the previous year. He should have creamed Brian B here but he buckled under the pressure. He's holding back tears here, and Brian B was so sweet to hug him. You really can't blame him for being quiet.

[@Person-mh6xq]

@@xxwhispersxx2856 buckled under the pressure? Ha. That’s a bit extreme considering how well he skated! Not perfect, but very well.

[@REDIVY78]

@@Person-mh6xq Brian Orser has a history of getting nervous before he starts performing,that was his downfall sadly

[@MegaCaptain54]

with enormous pressure on brian orser to win gold on his home ice. orser was a much more technical skater than boitano. boitano was a showman. but the Olympics is, as whitney Houston sang it best, just "one moment in time". it just goes to show how special the Olympic games are. on that day. the only day that truly matters, brian boitano was just a little bit better than orser. I watched it live when I was just 19 yrs old. I knew when orser flinched on that jump, that boitano had won the gold. orser got the draw he needed. he got to skate last. all he had to do was to skate a clean program. he left the door open for the judges and they did not disappoint. you could see the disappointment in orsers face all during the medal ceremony. he'd felt he let his country down. far from it in my eyes. unfortunately in the Olympics, there are no ties. somebody has to win. the judges made the right call. no politics in this one. just excellence on both skaters part. great job brian. on a side note, a young virtually unknown phenom to be took the bronze. viktor petrenko. little did we know at the time just how greaqt he would become

[@pacificoast82]

Actually, if you review the two programs by the Brian’s, Brian Boitano’s skate far exceeded Brian Orsers. But skating being what it is, Brian O came in as the reigning World champion, which meant that he should have been almost impossible to beat back in the day. He also enjoyed the home town advantage, and despite both of those, he lost. And the scores given to him reflect the judging biases of the day. Brian B’s scores should have been higher, or actually, having skated before Orser, Orser’s scores should have been lower. The first skater’s scores are held down to leave room for a better skate.

[@sandranorman5469]

mary jane Prouty Brian Boitano should have gotten straight 6.0 s for Technical Merit. Will never understand the Denmark judge giving Boitano 5.7 for artistic. Skating is strange isn’t it?

[@tally1604]

@@sandranorman5469 there was no danish judge on the panel in the men's long program. what are you talking about?

[@Person-mh6xq]

Sandra norman he two-footed his second triple axel so it would be unwarranted to give him a 6.0 for technical merit. Otherwise, an exceptional program.

[@RaymondHng]

The third judge's marks can be seen at kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGnTZHiepq5satU It is labeled DEN for Denmark.

[@10Dec1971]

Brian Boitano was and is so sexy!! I was a sophomore in high school and remember watching this and cheering for Brian Boitano!! Dawn

[@npe1]

He's actually Ukrainian.

[@tamaradg1062]

npe1 in 1988 he was from USSR ! That 's ALL !!!

[@tachor5834]

@@tamaradg1062 yes... But Russian and Ukrainian figure skating schools are a little bit different

[@sylvialupehernandez9154]

​@@tamaradg1062Am I wrong I would say Brian Boitano is an American, not Italian?

[@natalyst.6340]

Я Бойтано не любила...Болела так за Орсера, но......

[@tyronebranch2946]

@szqsk8, m