No Canadian athlete has ever dealt with the kind of pressure Brian Orser was under in 1988.
Heading into the Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canadians had precious few first-place hopes.
If Canada was going to mine gold on its home turf, Orser would have to be the one to deliver it.
"There was a lot of pressure to come home with at least one gold," says Orser, who won eight consecutive national men's figure skating titles between 1981 and 1988.
"And a lot of that weight was on my shoulders."
Orser came into the Games as Canada's only world champion -- in any sport -- and carried the flag into the opening ceremonies.
"That was unbelievable," he said. "It was windy and cold but I don't think my feet touched the ground.
"I was so ready for it. I was so prepared for the Games. I was flattered when each of these honours came my way.
"At the time, I didn't think about it so much. I knew it was there, but afterwards, I realized how much pressure there was."
The much-awaited figure skating competition was billed 'The Battle of the Brians' as Orser and American Brian Boitano were the clear frontrunners.
And the battle was everything the fans could have hoped for as both skaters put on a show for the ages.
Boitano was second in figures, with Orser coming third. The Canadian finished first in the short program and Boitano was second, setting the stage for a winner-take-all free skate.
The four-time U.S. national champion had lost the world title to Orser on his home turf the previous year and was determined to return the favour in Calgary.
Carrying the smallest of leads into the free skate, Boitano skated flawlessly while Orser made a minor error, stepping out of a triple flip.
The judges -- on a 5-4 split -- handed the gold to Boitano.
Orser, whose artistry was undeniably superior to that of his American counterpart's, would later say he thought he had done enough to top the podium.
"I still stand by that," the two-time Olympic silver medallist says. "Now that we've had all this time to reflect and look back on it, I marvel at what an incredible event it was, in that both Brian and I delivered exactly what the audience wanted.
"He was second in figures and I was third, then I was first in the short and he was second, and then both of us skated really strong free programs. It kind of followed the script. I had written a different ending, but ...
"It came down to 0.1 from any of the five judges. Most of our marks were tied. The first mark (technical merit) broke the tie. The next year, it was changed so the second mark (artistic impression) broke the tie, which would have worked nicely in my favour."
Boitano, who recently taped a TSN feature with Orser at the 'Dome, says that night in 1988 will forever be etched in his memory.
"Nobody could really understand what we went through that night except both of us," Boitano told USA Today last month.
Orser was elected into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1989 and was named to the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1995.
He currently coaches Korea's Yu Na Kim, who won the 2007 Grand Prix women's final.
Following the Olympics, Boitano turned pro and won 10 straight pro competitions. He skated during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXVI.
