Word: short
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...into a horse-drawn taxi. The elderly driver, a smile creasing his weathered face, tugs on the reins and utters a sharp "Vamonos!" as the black carriage with a torn leather awning rolls away. The scene could have come from Cabbages and Kings, O. Henry's collection of picturesque short stories set in turn-of-the-century Central America. But this is no quaint, fictitious land. This is modern-day Nicaragua...
When he fell the second time, on the straightaway of Thursday's 1,000-meter event, just 200 meters short of the finish, it was even more stunning, as if he had been forced down by sorrow alone. Watching from the gallery, Brother Mike, 24, had just assured a sister: "Dan's made it through the toughest turns. He's fine now." At the 600-meter mark, Jansen was .31 sec. faster than any of the competition. Then his right skate "caught an edge" -- hit the ice on the side instead of the bottom of the blade -- sending...
Three days. Two Brians. One gold medal. So the tense scene was set as America's Brian Boitano and Canada's Brian Orser faced off Saturday evening in the Olympic Saddledome. The compulsory figures and short program had decided nothing. The final verdict would, after all, come down to 4 1/2 lonely minutes on the ice. True to form, the much touted similarities between the two friends and rivals continued to the very last. Apparently they knew there was a war on, because each was dressed military-style, Boitano in blue, Orser in crimson, both their costumes brightened by gold...
While the men's contest of wills remained undecided until the last score flashed, the outcome of the pairs competition was all but foreordained. The incandescent young Soviet couple, Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov, secured a healthy lead during the short program, then skated away from the pack with a seemingly flawless performance in the longer freestyle event. The Soviets, who have claimed every Olympic pairs gold medal since 1964, also placed second and fourth. The top U.S. pair, Jill Watson and Peter Oppegard, survived an awkward spill early in the long program to capture the bronze and win America...
...anything but certain. In addition, as the men approached the long segment, which counts for 50% of the total score, Boitano held the narrowest of leads. His stronger showing in the painstaking figures (worth 30%) gave him the edge, despite Orser's higher marks in the short program (worth just 20%). But that segment, lasting no longer than 2 1/4 minutes, was a boost for both men. Orser delivered a jazzy Fred Astaire send- up that he later called "my best short program ever in competition." Boitano was also pleased, humbly mouthing "Thank you, God" just seconds after completing...