Going for the gold, in Olympic suit design

The design work of Ryan Muraro, a junior from Waukesha, Wis., may soon be in the international spotlight.

Muraro designed the suits to be worn by British speed skater Phil Brojaka and by the Ukrainian speed-skating team — all possible contenders in the next winter Olympics.

Brojaka, who dates Muraro’s sister, asked Muraro to design his speed-skating suit in 2007. In one night, Muraro sketched 20 ideas, and Brojaka picked one. The suit went into production nine months later. Brojaka already is wearing the suit in competitions.

Because of that success, Brojaka’s agent approached Muraro about designing suits for the Ukrainian speed-skating team. In two hours, Muraro sketched five designs, and one has been produced.

Muraro, who studies industrial design in UW-Stout’s art program, hopes to design additional suits in the future.