Pro skaters dominate Sears Open results:

KITCHENER, ON - Professional skaters had the last laugh at the Sears Open figure-skating events on Saturday, upending Olympic-eligible skaters in all but one discipline.

Only Nicole Bobek of the United States was able to turn back professional skaters like Jos e Chouinard of Newmarket, Ont., and Karen Preston of Mississauga, Ont.

Bobek was the only skater still eligible to compete in the Olympics who competed in the Sears Open women's event, the first open competition held in Canada.

Open competitions allow professionals and Olympic-eligible skaters to compete against each other. Under new rules adopted this season, Olympic-eligible skaters lose their status only by competing in professional events that are not sanctioned by the International Skating Union.

For the first time this season, the ISU sanctioned about 10 competitions that were previously only for professional skaters, including next week's World Professional Championships, won the past couple of years by Kurt Browning.

Browning, who turned pro in 1994, was the highlight of the Sears Open on Saturday as he easily defeated non-professional Michael Weiss of the United States. Pro skater Brian Orser finished third.

In the pairs event, new pro skaters Mandy Woetzel and Ingo Steuer of Germany defeated amateurs Kristy Sargeant of Alix, Alta. and Kris Wirtz of Marathon, Ont.

Canadian non-pro stars Shae-Lynn Bourne of Chatham, Ont., and Victor Kraatz of Vancouver were upset by pros Maia Usova and Evgeny Platov, who were competing in their first event together.

Big-name pro skaters such as Brian Boitano and Kristi Yamaguchi refuse to compete in the open events because they say they don't want to be judged by ISU officials, under ISU rules. They worry about being at a disadvantage.

"Why not?" Browning said, shrugging. "These competitions give us a new opportunity to skate."

Still, the ISU has adapted rules that they hope will attract skaters to open events from both realms. The short programs come with all the old amateur rules and requirements, but the pros are served by the new interpretive program.

The competition brought together an unusual group of skaters. Even though Italian dancers Barbara Fusar-Poli and Maurizio Margaglio are top-10 skaters in the eligible ranks, they had never seen Browning skate live before.

Olympic-eligible skater Jeff Langdon said he felt strange competing against his choreographer, Orser. Browning said although he's watched U.S. hopeful Michael Weiss compete at the Nagano Olympics, he had never actually met him.

Weiss is only 22. Browning, at 32, is from a different skating generation.

But Browning gave them all a lesson in interpretive skating on the weekend in Kitchener. Even though he competed with a pair of two-year-old boots with paper plates shoved under the tongues, Browning snapped up four perfect marks of 6.0 for his interpretive program from ISU judges, who rarely give out such things.

Before the event started, Browning was concerned that he couldn't match the jumping pyrotechnics of the youngsters. He's been suffering from boot problems and decided not even to try such things as triple Axels. He stuck with the simple stuff.

"I feel naked," he said. Browning proved to be the interpretive master of the event, using a comic clown routine in a most sophisticated way. He stayed in character from the moment he stepped onto the ice -- in his skate guards -- to the final crowning act: He flung himself onto a huge stuffed animal on the ice, thrown to him by a fan.