Figure a skater should hold flag
By GEORGE GROSS -- Toronto Sun
In seven years a group of famous Canadian athletes will march into Vancouver's Olympic Stadium carrying a large Olympic flag.
The choice of the eight athletes won't be an easy one because our country has been fortunate having had outstanding skiers, speedskaters and figure skaters who have brought glory to Canada.
The people of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee will have a difficult task to select eight individuals for the honours.
I realize they could do without my advice, but I'd like to put forth the names of four prominent Canadian male figure skaters.
Let's start with Don Jackson.
The first Canadian male singles figure skater to win a world championship, Jackson, won an Olympic bronze medal at the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics. He shocked the figure skating world when he beat hometown boy Karol Divin in Prague two years later and after trailing Divin by almost 50 points following compulsory figures. In those days, compulsory figures counted for 60% of the overall total.
Jackson received a standing ovation from the Prague crowd at the Fucik Arena when he became the first male skater in the world to successfully complete a triple Lutz jump.
Firsts seem to be part and parcel of Canadian male skaters. Another case in point is Kurt Browning, the amiable performer who stunned the figure skating world when he became the first skater to land a quad in competition. He did it at the 1988 world championships in Budapest.
With pearls of perspiration dancing on his forehead after the strenuous effort, Browning told me in the dressing room: "I knew I would land it because I had to in order to win the title."
Browning has won four world championship titles, more than any other Canadian singles skater. He still continues his winning ways, but this time it's in the ranks of professionals.
Which brings us to Elvis Stojko, who won three world championships and only a groin injury forced him to be satisfied with a silver medal at the Nagano Games in 1998. He captured a medal of the same colour in the 1994 Games at Lillehammer, Norway.
A few days ago, Elvis announced his second retirement from amateur skating, but will continue to entertain skating fans in pro events and exhibitions. They don't call him "The King" for nothing.
The fourth skating musketeer is Brian Orser, who thrilled the skating world with his battles against Brian Boitano of the United States in what became known as "The Battle of the Brians." Orser lost to Boitano at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, but won the world championship in Cincinnati.
I could have made it a quintet had Donald McPherson not passed away at an early age. I watched him win the world title in 1963 at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, when the judges proved they are capable of deciding a title.
McPherson was competing against Germany's Manfred Schnelldorfer and France's Alain Calmat, who later became sports minister of France. Half the judges pushed Schnelldorfer into first place and Calmat into third. The other half performed the reverse and both factions had McPherson in second place. As a result, the Canadian skater won the global title on a majority of second place votes.
We had other outstansing male skaters, but they were either in the pairs competition, or in the dance. Just remember Bob Paul, who skated with Barbara Wagner and won five world titles, as well as Olympic gold in Squaw Valley in 1960 and Otto and Maria Jelinek, who won a world title in 1962 and a North American crown the year before.
As for the dancers, there is of course the 2003 world champion Victor Kraatz, who triumphed with his lovely partner, Shae-Lynn Bourne.
SCOTT A GREAT CHOICE
One lady who definitely deserves to be holding the Olympic flag in 2010 is Barbara Ann Scott, the first Canadian figure skater to win Olympic gold, which she accomplished in 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland, the year after she won the world title.
So, now that I sufficiently confused the Vancouver organizers, the next time I'll suggest to them the Crazy Canucks of skiing headed by Ken Read and after that the speedskaters led by Catriona Le May Doan.
GROSSLY ABBREVIATED: Top athletes of Toronto's Finest will participate in the Police Games at the SkyDome on Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. ... Tickets for the Sports Media Canada Achievement Awards Luncheon on Oct. 14 in the Imperial Room of the Royal York Hotel are practically sold out. For further info call Dick Bradbeer at (905) 855-2666 or email him at bradbeer@ idirect.com.
