Two Brians Remember....

[Ladskater]

I thought this was interesting...about the Battle of the Brians from their perspective:

http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/stories/i...ans051215.html

[SkateFan4Life]

Interesting article. "The Battle of the Brians" was one of the best figure skating competitions in Olympic history - an epic battle, plain and simple.

Of course, as an American, I was thrilled to see "our Brian" (Boitano) win the gold medal with a brillant long program of triple jumps and strong choregraphy. I thought that Brian Orser was wonderful, too, but Boitano had bested him that evening, and in those days the technical mark was the tiebreaker.

[Ladskater]

Interesting article. "The Battle of the Brians" was one of the best figure skating competitions in Olympic history - an epic battle, plain and simple.

Of course, as an American, I was thrilled to see "our Brian" (Boitano) win the gold medal with a brillant long program of triple jumps and strong choregraphy. I thought that Brian Orser was wonderful, too, but Boitano had bested him that evening, and in those days the technical mark was the tiebreaker.

Brian Boitano only beat Brian Orser by one-tenth of a point so really was very close; Brian Orser had already won the short program. I still think artistically Brian Orser had the better skate over Brian Boitano. I wonder how it would have turned out under today's judging system.

[isk82]

Nice article. Thanks for sharing. What a class act Brian Boitano has always been. Actually, both Brians.

[iluvtodd]

Thanks for sharing this article. This is still my all-time favorite Olympic men's competition. Even though I'm an American, I was pulling for Brian O. during the Calgary Olympics. But both Brians were fantastic, and I love that both men are respectful of each other and seem to get along well today.

[SkateFan4Life]

Brian Boitano only beat Brian Orser by one-tenth of a point so really was very close; Brian Orser had already won the short program. I still think artistically Brian Orser had the better skate over Brian Boitano. I wonder how it would have turned out under today's judging system.

Well, I respectfully disagree with you. Brian Orser was tiring towards the end of his program, and that took away some of his athletic, and artistic, edge. IMHO, Boitano's long program was clearly the best. Even Katarina Witt, who was a close friend of Orser's and who had been rooting for him, told Larry King a number of years ago that she had watched the men's competition, and she felt that Boitano had won, without a doubt.

The competition certainly was close - a 5/4 decision. One tenth of a point towards Orser would have given him the title. However, his 5.8s for technical merit were more than fair. Had he landed his second triple axel and the triple flip, he may well have won.

It was definitely one of the best men's Olympic competitions ever!!