Just to the North, Another Skating Rivalry Fascinates a Nation

Copyright 1994 The Washington Post

Tonya and Nancy, you could learn a few things from Kurt and Elvis.

Like Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan, Kurt Browning and Elvis Stojko are the top figure skaters of their gender in their country. But the similarity ends there.

Even before the infamous attack on Kerrigan, for which Harding's former husband and three others have been arrested, there was no love lost between the two American rivals. Browning and Stojko, on the other hand, both say their years of dominating Canadian men's figure skating have made them friends and close teammates.

As the Lillehammer Olympics approach, Browning and Stojko are arguably the world's best and second-best men's figure skaters, though not necessarily in that order. The Kurt-and-Elvis show, as the duo's competition has been dubbed in Canada, has been avidly followed in this country; now it will be seen by the rest of the world.

Though they are neck-and-neck, Browning, 27, and Stojko, 21, are of different generations. Browning, a four-time world champion, is expected to retire from competition after Lillehammer; Stojko, world runner-up last year, hopes to compete in the 1998 Olympics.

The changing of the guard was there for all to see at the Canadian national championships in Edmonton in January. Browning skated a disastrous technical program, and came back to finish second with a slightly shaky free-skate. Stojko fell when he attempted a quadruple jump in the free skate, but still easily took his first national title. Browning had been national champion the four previous years.

The national championships also showed the friendly feelings that characterize their rivalry. As Stojko was being interviewed by Canadian television after his victory, Browning approached and, on camera, gave him a hearty handshake and congratulations.

"It really showed the spirit of sportsmanship," Stojko said recently during a break in practice here, about an hour north of Toronto.

The two present contrasting images. Browning is lithe and pretty, an elegant figure who does his free-skate program in a Bogart-style tuxedo to the music of Casablanca. Stojko, short, muscular and a martial-arts enthusiast, skates to the music from the movie "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story." He says Bruce Lee is his hero because "he went against everything and proved that his way worked."

Stojko for years was better regarded for his jumping ability than for his artistic interpretations. But today, with the help of martial-arts study and a Philadelphia-based choreographer, he has pulled the artistic side together as well. And Browning has taught him to make contact with audiences during his performances.

Even in jumping records, the two parallel each other. Browning was the first man ever to perform a quad, in which he revolves four full times, in competition. Stojko was the first to do it in combination with a second jump.

Their finishes have been close for years. Stojko has been second to Browning in the Canadian national championships three times. In the 1992 world championships, Browning was second and Stojko was third. In the 1993 world championships in Prague, Browning was first and Stojko second.

Stojko's finish in Prague came after he skated a very weak technical program. His distress afterward was plain to see. Browning left the group of people he was talking to, took Stojko into a room and gave him an hour-long pep talk.

"He said, 'I want both of us on that podium.' The next day, Elvis came out and he was pumped. I give Kurt credit for some of that," said Susan Heffernan, an international judge and a team leader for figure skating.

Neither skater has performed well at the Olympics. Browning, skating with a back injury, was seventh at the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France. Stojko, 19 at the time, was sixth. Browning has made it clear that Lillehammer is his last opportunity to shine before turning the throne over to Stojko.

Canada's next skating idol is an affable young man whose mother emigrated from Hungary in 1956 and immediately fell in love with the music of Elvis Presley. Stojko's father, an immigrant from Slovenia in what was then Yugoslavia, also was a fan; it seemed only natural to name their son after the King.

Stojko and Browning face tough competition at Lillehammer from Ukrainian Viktor Petrenko and Americans Scott Davis and Brian Boitano. But despite their friendship, the Canadians also know they must fear each other.

"I've always played down how strong the rivalry was between Elvis and me, but it's been awesome," Browning said during the national championships. "He's aggressive and he has an image."

And Stojko now says he goes to Lillehammer in a stronger position because he's already defeated Browning.