Word: orser
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...Brian Orser...
That's a lot of understatement. Brian Boitano and Brian Orser are linked circles in a perfect figure eight -- they mirror each other. It is not just because they have the same name, the same lean look and the same longish hairstyle. The two are both homebodies who enjoy the pampered slot of youngest in a long line of siblings. Each took up skating before his tenth birthday, and (unlike most skaters) still trains with his first and only coach. Both have captured a string of national figure-skating titles, Boitano in the U.S., | Orser in Canada. Each has reigned...
...course, there are differences. The American child started after seeing an ice show; the Canadian was first attracted to hockey. As they matured, so goes the rinkside chatter, Boitano became the "technical" Brian, long on consistency, short on artistry. Orser is the "theatrical" Brian, capable of delivering explosive performances when he isn't unhinged by nerves. But such nugget-size insights are misleading. Boitano can also stun the crowd with his flare, and Orser can draw gasps for his technical brilliance. So when the battle of the Brians is settled in the Olympic Saddledome on Feb. 20, barring cataclysm, injury...
...competition." Maybe that explains his reputation for perfectionism. Only rarely does he flub a figure or miss one of his eight triple jumps. Such determination helped him win the world championship in 1986. A year later though, that same grim correctness contributed to the loss of his title to Orser. Not demonstrative enough, needs more panache, tut-tutted pundits...
...Canadian Brian also has a quad in his arsenal, but he too plans not to deploy it in the Saddledome. "My program was set in September," says Orser, 26. "I can't have any doubt or question whether I'm going to do a triple or a quadruple in one spot." Orser's confidence will be the key to whether he triumphs or stumbles. Although he has had a lock on the Canadian title for eight years, he has often been an also-ran at the international level. After taking the silver medal at the 1984 Olympics, just behind America...