3 Champions

If you stop to think about it for a few moments, it has been a truly incredible run. Eight World titles, by three different men, during an 11-year span. A slew of other World and Olympic medals as well. Brian Orser. Kurt Browning. Elvis Stojko.

Three very different skaters, but three great men's champions who have all left their marks on the sport as it has undergone both technical and artistic revolutions. Three men who became champions by doing things their own way, actually helping to drive the changes in their sport. And all Canadian.

Which might be, perhaps, why the Great White North has done so much navel gazing of late, wondering why its skaters in other disciplines can't match the men's dizzying ascents to the top of the podium. Perhaps, though, the reason is a lot simpler than anyone is willing to admit that these three skaters are simply prodigies, men who found their calling and had the wherewithal to achieve success. Men who got great coaching, found inspiration and elite-level competition from other great skaters in their own country, who each had a support net that picked them up when they fell and helped them keep pushing forward. And most important of all, who possessed a driving internal need to be, and belief that they could be, the best.

Prior to Orser's World Championship in 1987, only two Canadian men had even won a World title - Don Jackson on a memorable day in 1962, when he landed the first triple Lutz in competition in Prague to upset hometown hero Karol Divin, and Donald McPherson a year later.

In fact, Canada won only three World titles in all disciplines in the intervening years, Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini in pairs in 1984, Karen Magnussen in 1973, and Petra Burka in 1965 in the ladies' event.

There was nothing to indicate the amazing success that was to follow Orser's title, his six World medals (four silver, a bronze and the gold), and Olympic silver medals in 1984 and 1988. Yet Orser, who succeeded over his own self doubts, the skepticism of Canadian figure skating officials that he could rise to the top training in a small city (Orillia, Ont.) with a then-inexperienced coach by the name of Doug Leigh, and the fact that he developed in the glare of incredible media and fan pressure, was likely the springboard for the domination of the sport by his two successors.

Canadian judge Debbie Islam has followed the careers of all three skaters, and knows how important was the progression from one champion to the next.

"With Brian leading the way, that just kept (Kurt's) performance coming up as the years went by," she said during an interview at the recent World Championships in Minneapolis. "The same thing happened with the Kurt to Elvis thing, which I think is the key to all these guys' success. They had somebody that they had to rise up to. The competition at the ultimate level was right in our own country."

But in the beginning, there was only Orser. And in his beginning, there was more technique than artistry. Like Elvis Stojko, it was a stigma he fought for several years before, finally, winning recognition as one of the truly great artistic skaters of the modern era. He's been called the Nuryev and the Baryshnikov of skating. High praise for a guy who, at one time, was dismissed as just a jumper (where have we heard that before?).

"My technical development came first," Orser agreed. "To the point that I was criticized for not being artistic. I was trying to move the sport along technically... well, not trying to, I just happened to. Of course, people found criticism in that. It was overwhelming, I found, because I moved it up quite a large notch and it just overshadowed the artistic part. I had to make some changes and even some political moves to give the impression that I was this artistic wizard out there."

At the time, Orser was the king of the triple Axel. He landed the first ever at the World Juniors, then after graduating to Senior was the firs to do the jump in the free skate at the Olympics (1984), in the short program at Worlds (1987 in Cincinnati) and the first to land two triple Axels at Worlds, also in 1987. Perhaps his most important move after establishing himself as an international contender was to hook up with Ushi Keszler, a former German skater who became his choreographer, and who today works with Elvis.

"She just capitalized on my natural ability," Orser recalled. "I tried to do different things and that was planned so I could show some versatility, so you're not stereotyped as being a certain type of skater." Hence came programs such as his Sing, Sing, Sing short, and The Bold (music from an out of print Russian play) free skate, two routines which stand as signature pieces for his abilities. Sing, Sing, Sing helped him win the World title in 1987, when he narrowly lost the vaunted "Battle of the Brians" at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary and settled for a silver medal behind American Brian Boitano. As an illustration of how his career had evolved between the two Olympics, Orser has many times said that in 1984 he won silver, and in '88 he lost gold. Not in his own mind, perhaps, but certainly in public perception.

Orser also had to deal with one thing Browning and Stojko did not, at least not during their heydays at the international level. Figures were Orser's nemesis, though many impartial observers believe that Orser's figures in his later years were as good as anyone else's, but that is was simply a convenient way for the judges to keep other skaters ahead of him.

As Orser's career began to wind down, 1988 was his amateur finale, it wasn't hard to figure out who would take his place. A youngster from Caroline, Alberta, was making big waves. His name was Kurt Browning.

"I toured with him in '88 with the Canadian Figure Skating Association tour and the ISU tour in Europe. He was a diamond in the raw, but I could see the natural talent," Orser said, his mind drifting back almost a decade, and a smile coming to his lips as the memories flooded back.

"I would see how he was a little bit wild in practice, but he could do it when it came to competition. He loves to compete. He's incredibly competitive, he's the most competitive person I've ever met."

Browning had already landed the first quad at the Worlds, in 1988 as Boitano beat Orser for the gold medal, and in 1989 he won his first of three straight World titles. From 1989-1993, he would win four World titles and place second to Victor Petrenko in 1992.

He did it by following in Orser's shoes technically, but forging his own direction artistically. Where Orser created wonderful interpretations of music, Browning became an entertainer par excellence. He reveled in his roles, and this unparalleled ability led to one of the greatest programs of all time, the Humphrey Bogart free skate which won him his final World title in '93 in Prague.

Sandra Bezic's choreography was brilliant, and his own presentation flawless. Clad in white, flicking his cigarette away during one memorable break midway through the program, there was no doubt that Browning became Bogey.

"That was a masterpiece," says Islam, who judged him on several Canadian and international panels. "That was just the ultimate vehicle for him and his personality. He was Bogey."

Perhaps the greatest tribute to the program is that, when he caught his breath at the mid-point stopping to weave a few intricate circles on the ice, to rest his chin against his shoulder, take a drag on his smoke and then casually flick it away, few even realized that, for 20 seconds or so, he hardly moved.

"There have been breaks all through history in programs, that's where you breath," Islam said. "A lot of times it's a piece of music and it's transition point. You knew what it was. But when he did his program, he used that to his advantage so you weren't even thinking about it as a point in the program where he was catching his breath.

"That was a highlight of the program, too. You think about him doing his jumps and everything else, but those are the parts of the program that you remember most, were those breaks."

Where Orser had created a new wave of interest in figure skating in Canada, Browning made it a flood. His outgoing personality, good looks and small-town charm - attributes which, amazingly, he retains to this day - made him a national hero. Well, that and four World titles.

"I want to be an entertainer, to share what makes me so happy with other people," he says.

In comparison to Orser, who lived by a strictly regimented schedule and training routine that he needed to maintain his peace of mind, Browning was a loose cannon.

"(Orser) really had a lot of pressure on him," he says now. "They expected him to win, they groomed him to win, he was supposed to win. Literally, you could just feel the expectation in the air.

"Me? They expected me to be late for practice."

Browning never was much for training schedules, but it would be unfair to say he didn't take his sport seriously. When it was time to compete, he could bear down like no other.

"A lot of people said I would have been better if I worked harder, but I seemed to have my best skate at the World Championships and my worst skate at divisionals every year. I was different that way (training) than the other guys."

Those four World titles, and five Canadian crowns are hard to argue with, though he never did win an Olympic medal, his best finish at the Games a sixth in 1992.

"Kurt always seemed to put more pressure on himself when he competed at Olympics," observed Stojko, with whom Browning would have some of the most memorable battles in Canadian skating history, "which he didn't need. He was fine when he was competing at Worlds, just enough pressure to make it. He put a lot of pressure on himself at Olympics, which really made it difficult."

To this day, Browning remains one of the most sought-after skaters in the world. His accomplishments on the pro circuit are as legendary as those of his amateur days, and he actually landed a quad at an event March 25 in the U.S., 10 years to the day after his first successful quad at the Budapest Worlds. It was an amazing feat for a man who had only recently resumed training the jump, which he didn't even try in his final two years of amateur competition. Browning's response: "It was a neat moment."

Clearly, his legend continues to grow. Orser might have been the first to really develop that vaunted "package." of artistry, jumps, spins and footwork, but Browning gave it a new meaning.

"He stands alone when I think of the men," says Islam. "He has the raw talent, the charisma too, and he still has that ability to draw you in. His programs seem to last five seconds, and you want him to keep going.

"He's got an amazing natural personality. He's completely natural and sincere. I can't think of anybody in men's skating who can draw them in like he does."

Yet it would not be long before this legend of skating would be fighting just to win his National title, not to mention a World crown. Kurt was, and still is, a fierce competitor, but skating has probably never seen anyone like the guy who was coming after him. And to this day, Elvis Stojko is recognized as the toughest competitor in the sport. Their rivalry brought out the best in each skater.

"It was fun to be in a competition like that," Browning says. "It was not fun knowing you could skate mediocre and still win.

As Browning developed in the shadow of Orser, so did Stojko have Browning to deflect much of the attention, and the pressure, in his early days. Just how glaring the spotlight can be was revealed at the 1994 Canadians in Edmonton, when Stojko beat Browning for his first National title. At the post-event press conference, Browning commented that Stojko could have the pressure of being Number One and the world would see how he handled it.

It was the fourth time they'd gone head-to-head as serious rivals at Canadians. Browning won the first in 1990, but had skated poorly and been saved only by his artistic marks in 1991, when Stojko made a bid for gold with two brilliant performances. Browning missed the 1992 Nationals with back problems and Stojko, skated with a broken bone in his foot, was second to Michael Slipchuk - but their friendly rivarly resumed in 1993 in Hamilton.

The night of the free skate at the Copps Coliseum is considered as the "greatest night in Canadian skating," in front of 17,500 delirious fans, Browning skated Bogey and Stojko followed with his Far and Away program, which with its connecting steps, well-choreographed spins and other elements in between the jumps, was an artistic breakthrough for the then 20-year-old. Stojko went clean, Browning fell on a triple Lutz.

Kurt pulled down three 6.0s for presentation, Stojko his first 6.0 for technique. Bogey got the gold and Stojko te silver on a night when neither could possibly have been considered a loser. Browning had watched Elvis from the Kiss and Cry, and later admitted if he'd been judging: "After watching Elvis skate, I went 'whew.' I know what I would have done."

In a true reflection of their relationship, which was a blend of intense competition on the ice, and tremendous respect for each other off it, Browning said it would only be a matter of time before Elvis ascended to the throne.

"It's inevitable that someone that good will have his day. To think Elvis won't win an Olympics or Worlds is ridiculous. It's just my job to make sure that doesn't happen while I'm still skating."

A month later, they went to Prague for the World Championships and Browning held Elvis off one last time as they finished 1-2 again.

The next January, in Browning's hometown of Edmonton, two inexplicable errors in the short program left Browning out of contention for the gold. Elvis finally had a title. What followed was a controversial Olympic silver medal when he was nosed out by Russian Alexei Urmanov, then two nights of technical and artistic brilliance in winning his first World title, in Tokyo.

Stojko has massed two Olympic silvers, three world titles and four Canadian championships so far. While he deserves a lot of credit for his accomplishments, Stojko is willing to share a bit of it with his predecessors, skaters who both challenged him and started opening doors to a variety of different artistic presentations.

"I know competing with Kurt really made a difference," Stojko admits. "I think that's why we kept the success going for so long. It was great to compete with him."

That year, Stojko skated to Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. It was the first time a skater had tried to meld skating with a martial art, and reflected Stojko's stubborn insistence to be himself, not to conform to what the sport wanted him to be.

It is a struggle he continues to this day. He is lauded as one of the greatest technical skaters ever; he forced his competitors to push their own technical boundaries as he pummeled them first with triple Axel/triple toe combinations, then quads and quad combinations that he hits consistently at the big competitions.

And he will gain grudging recognition as a skater who finally pushed the sport out of its balletic straitjacket, following Browning to prove once and for all that other mediums can be presented on the ice. If Dragon isn't his signature program, then his Kodo drums short program of last season will be.

"His style is very new and it's taken a while for people to come around to accepting it," Islam observes. "I think there was a bias toward the more balletic look, certainly Kurt changed that and Elvis was another new style again.

"He may not have the classic lines that a lot of judges may be looking for, but the emotional aspect of his skating is second to none. I think a lot of the time in skating the judges don't look at that component as much as they should when they are looking at his presentation mark."

If the themes, and some of the moves, of his free skate seem repetitive to some, it would not be the first time a skater stuck to one style. Russian Alexei Urmanov, one of Stojko's toughest rivals, has been criticized for the same thing. So have many others.

"I still think he has a long way to go in terms of evolving in different styles," Islam says, though she believes he has come a long way already, as his short program last year illustrates. "I don't think he's as versatile as he might be. I think he can do that. I think he just hasn't sort of reached that peak in his development."

And if Stojko still has that to ascend to, then the injury which kept him out of the World Championships this year might not signal the end of this run of great Canadian men. Stojko is likely to return for at least another year or two in the amateur ranks, perhaps hoping to match Browning's total of four World titles.

Hey, it's that competitiveness again. He's got something to shoot for, and a field of rivals that might be unparalleled during his recent run of success. Kulik, Yagudin, Plushenko, Eldredge..

If he doesn't return, that gives established Canadians such as Jeff Langdon, eight in the world this spring, and inexperienced but abundantly talented Emanuel Sandhu, a chance to pursue him in the same way he chased, and finally caught Browning.

"We have a great situation in Canada," says Browning. "We have an ice rink on every corner. Maybe we don't have the population of the U.S., but we have a great situation for skating. It (has been) pretty fun to dominate like that for a decade. I don't see any reason why it should end."

Perhaps the best way to define the success was a comment made by Leigh, the coach who helped take both Orser and Stojko to the top.

"Three different personalities, three different focuses, three different characters." And one long success story.