Nightmare has dream finish for Browning
| Source: |
The Times |
| Date: |
March 10, 1990 |
| Author: |
John Hennessy |
It all came right in the end for Kurt Browning, a figure skater in
the highest Canadian traditions. He has lived through a nightmare of a
season, as the holder of the men's world title, infirm of body and
empty of international achievement.
His only success had been in the Canadian championship, and even
then there were those who felt that the title should have gone to
Elvis Stojko.
They may have been influenced by Stojko's appealing youth, at 17,
and by his evocative first name.
All this was forgotten on Thursday night when Browning, six years
Stojko's senior, put his young compatriot and all others emphatically
in their place.
The fears about Victor Petrenko, the Soviet winner of the silver
medal, lacking stamina and perhaps total commitment proved
justified. Skating first in the last group, he opened strongly enough,
with a stunning combination of triple axel to triple toe loop and
followed that with a glittering triple lutz.
A double salchow signalled the first sign of doubt and a double
loop reinforced it. Five triples, even with his enviable purity of
edge, were not going to be enough if Browning could rise to his duty
before an adoring massed audience.
He did not fail them, not unless you censure him for ducking his
opening quadruple toe loop. Since he is the only person to have
achieved it in competition that would have been unreasonable.
He went on to execute five other clean triple jumps, not counting
his second axel, which was faulty, and triumphantly proved his point.
Steven Cousins, the British champion, was thirteenth in the free,
and moved up from twentieth to eighteenth overall, an encouraging
performance on his first appearance at this level.
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