Scott Hamilton Talks With Brian Boitano

In week 4 of this series of Let's Talk conversations, Scott reunites with his long time friend, Brian Boitano. Brian is an Olympic Champion, World Champion, World Figure Skating Hall of Fame Member & now a celebrity chef! He moved up the ranks quickly on Scott's heels as a competitor and became the first US Men's Olympic Champion after Scott, with his win in 1988.
This conversation was recorded on Friday, April 17th for an audience registered through the SHARP 4 Sports elite training program, under the umbrella of the Scott Hamilton Skating Academy at Ford Ice Center in Nashville, TN.
Join us for Scott's next LIVE interview with more of his amazing skating friends, every Friday, by registering at SHARP4Sports.com. 50% of the proceeds from the live attendance fees are donated to the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation.

[@maryleone2023]

Scott Hamilton has got to be one of the nicest people on the planet. He is such a joy to listen to. He is a gift to ice skating fans everywhere. Brian Boitano is such a phenomenal skater. So focused and talented. I remember when his eyes teared up as they played our National Anthem while he stood so proudly on the podium. That's why I love the winter olympics. Our athletes there make us proud and don't disrespect our country like the summer olympic athletes led by Megan Rapinoe in Tokyo, in 2021. She disgraced our country and herself. Nathan Chen stood on the podium in Beijing with his hand over his heart as they played our anthem. Thank you for posting these talks.

[@joelpigeon7230]

Brian Boitano and Scott Hamilton are true living legends... Thank You ...

[@Llllbbb.123]

It is soooo great seeing you both and hearing your stories. Playing back the 1988 Olympics on KZbin. I still can’t figure out how you all did what you did. The stamina, determination and stories are relevant to life. God bless you.

[@victoriagill3337]

I love Brian’s explanation of how he got consistent in terms of number of crossovers, position on the ice etc to keep his mind occupied to stop panicking. So so useful.

[@LaLunaLady]

What a fun hour! Two of my favorite skaters on the planet. What a lovely Sunday afternoon it has been!

[@darlinecason1860]

Sooo awesome to see n hear these outstanding people. They followed their dreams n have nooo idea how much joy n entertainment they provided for alll of us thru their struggles reaching their goals n with class, great examples for future generations. THANKS!!

[@davidrobinson7422]

My interest in skating goes back to the sixties, when we had "Wide World of Sports" going on a Sunday afternoon. I remember Peggy Fleming's Olympic gold metal skate, so I date myself. Love these interviews with skaters who worked to set the gold standard. The character that was built within, on the way to the top, is wonderful to see. Thanks for sharing the behind-the-scenes look at not only these skater's history, but who they truly are.

[@heidicakes1165]

These two men are probably my favorite male skaters. They're not only the best skaters, but top notch human beings!! I remember watching them skate. This interview made me nostalgic and happy.

[@DesireeStamat]

What a great interview. Love them both!

[@markcockerell6634]

This made me laugh so hard, love you both

[@corylombard]

Both class acts.

[@scootermacarthy5990]

I would be curious to know if these two superior athletes still hit the ice for fun,

[@soulcornflake1]

Amazing. A modern talk with Brian where South Park isn't mentioned

[@tabithasabella5212]

Hey Brian and Scott merry christmas

[@tabithasabella5212]

Brian my name is tab. I'm one of your many fans. Number one. Your home in San Fran is beautiful. Secondly I watched your cooking shows, and I would love the opportunity to cook with you At the church i used to attend I was mentored by a great lady who ended up being a pastry chief we made things such as chocolate covered peanut butter balls, a deiicasy cookie made up of dark chocolate chip, white chocolate chips and some butterscotch chips to give the cookie that flavor. One my own my mom has taught me well, but I would love to learn more from you such ad how to use pinapple juice when cooking, and what meats are good to use with the pineapple juice

[@mpdnd1335]

Linda was nice to those who she chose to be nice to and could be very rude to other people for no particular reason. Haughty is how I would describe her. She was very calculating and isn't overtly overly emotional.

[@sandraevans4082]

two bald guys talking figure skating....love it

[@L1623VP]

With regard to Boitano winning the '88 Olympics, these guys are being very gracious in speaking about their fellow former skater, Brian Orser, but the reality is that Orser's loss wasn't just about the missed triple flip. He also down-graded his second triple axel to a double and had a hard two-foot landing on his last triple. In comparison, Boitano did two triple axels, two triple flips, and a triple-triple combination, ALL of which Orser didn't do. In addition Boitano's much more sophisticated choreography, he crushed Orser technically. Orser's score should NEVER have been so close to Boitano's. The "broken tie" is ridiculous. If you want to know the reason why Orser's score was so inflated for his LP, it's because the fix was in for him to win. Fortunately, it was the Russian judge who couldn't go through with the cheating scheme. After watching Boitano's amazing LP, he would tell Boitano 15 years later that he HAD to vote his conscience and do the right thing. It was his score that tipped the LP in Boitano's favor. As a result, he was fired from the Russian Federation. Linda Leaver tells the story in this video beginning at 17:10. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpW4paeAm7OEgsk

[@L1623VP]

@Philip Alumbo WTF are you talking about? My comment was about the 1988 Olympics, NOT Nationals, Jill Trenary or Debi Thomas...and NONE of that has anything to do with the collusion between skating federations at the international level.

[@L1623VP]

@Philip Alumbo Boitano's "favortism in scoring" is your opinion and FAR different from a verified and ADMITTED judging scheme to throw the '88 Olympic gold to Orser no matter how he skated. You seem to imply that because you were unhappy with the 1988 U.S. Nationals scoring, that perceived unfairness would have justified Orser getting an unearned Olympic gold medal. I couldn't disagree more. Even if you could prove there was favortism in the '88 Nationals scoring, it wouldn't make the scheme to push Orser to the top of the Olympic podium any less deplorable or criminal. So, I don't know what your hang up is with '88 Nationals. You seem to be more anti-Boitano than concerned about judging ethics. At the same time, what happens at Nationals among judges who are fellow countrymen is nothing compared to the levels of collusion and corruption required to coordinate multiple international skating federations into a judging scheme to award the gold medal to one skater at the most important competition in the entire sport, the Olympics. That's far more than "having an agenda" so your favorite skater wins. That's power, and most likely money, changing hands at the highest levels of the sporting institutions we're supposed to trust. So no, it's not quite the same, even if you could prove your claim about Nationals was true.

[@L1623VP]

@Philip Alumbo No, you're conflating an issue at nationals with a multi-national conspiracy to gift Orser the Olympic gold. Sorry, they're just NOT the same thing. One is admitted FACT by a co-conspirator, and the other is your opinion. There is NO way either Boitano or Orser would NOT have made the '88 Olympic team of their home countries even if they'd bombed or gotten sick and withdrawn from their respective national competitions. Skating federations make their own decisions about Olympic teams regardless of the way nationals turn out. Many times top skaters have a bad Nationals or miss Nationals and are still appointed to the team because federations can make exceptions for skaters, and that's exactly what would have happened for Bointano anyway...and even Orser had he had a bad day at Canadian Nationals. No padded scoring necessary. At 1992 U.S. Nationals, Mark Mitchell placed third. The U.S. had three spots for men at the 1992 Olympics one month later but the USFSA chose to make an exception for Todd Eldridge who was out for medical reasons, and placed him on the team instead. So, there is NO way Boitano would not have been in Calgary in '88. Federations can do that, and they certainly would have with or without score padding. So, your point is mute.

[@L1623VP]

@Philip Alumbo Politics and collusion didn't come into play with the decision to leave Mitchell off the Olympic team in 1992. It was a matter of strategy and USFSA putting the best possible team together with the greatest odds of winning a medal. It was a matter at looking at each skater's overall accomplishments and potential versus a single competition because the greatest predictor of future performance is past performance.

[@dsoule4902]

In 1988 it was the Soviet Union.

[@annaswanson176]

It was compulsory figures is why I quit skating. Lol! It was boring... Belmont? I learned to skate there. Small world.