Battle of the Brians
Encyclopedia
The Battle of the Brians was an informal name given to the figure skating
rivalry between Canadian
Brian Orser
and American
Brian Boitano
at the 1988 Winter Olympics
in Calgary. It is considered one of the most memorable competitions in figure skating history.
won the silver medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics
. Brian Boitano
placed fifth. Orser placed second at the 1985 World Figure Skating Championships
, with Boitano one step below him. Boitano won the next year. When Orser won the 1987 Worlds, held in Cincinnati, Boitano knew he would have to make a change in his skating if he were to beat Orser at the Calgary Olympics
on Orser's home turf. He turned to choreographer Sandra Bezic
, who helped effect a major change in his skating style. Orser and Boitano were well-matched in many ways. Both were excellent skaters who had a jump as their signature move; Orser was well-known for his triple axel
and Boitano had invented the 'Tano triple lutz
, a triple lutz with one arm raised above the head. Going into the Olympics, both were their country's nationals champions and favorites for the gold.
, the short program, and the long program. Boitano was ahead after the compulsory figures, but Orser won the short program. At that time, figures counted for 30% of the score and the short program counted for 20%. The difference between Orser and Boitano was so small that the skater who won the long program would win the title. Adding to the excitement, both Boitano and Orser both had military-themed long programs.
Boitano was the first to skate. His program was technically perfect with no mistakes. His program, set to the music of "Napoleon", showed five stages in a soldier's life. Boitano landed eight triple jumps, two of them triple Axels
. Another signature move, a prolonged spread eagle
, lasted ten seconds. Boitano's scores were:
Orser skated after him. His program was to "Dance of the Carter" and "Dance of Kozelkov and His Friends" from the ballet The Bolt by Dmitri Shostakovich
. He had originally planned to do two triple axels, but decided at the last minute to do only one of them. He also stepped out of a triple flip
towards the beginning. He landed seven triple jumps. Orser's scores were:
In a 5-4 split, the judges awarded Boitano the gold, and Orser his second Olympic silver medal. Though Orser won 4 judges' votes outright while Boitano won 3, two remaining judges that placed them with equal total mark gave Boitano higher technical mark, which was the tiebreaker. This was the last Olympics in which the technical mark was used as tiebreaker in the long program; in following years, the artistic mark was given precedence in the event of tie, which would have changed the split to 6-3 in Orser's favour.
" was used to describe the rivalry in the ladies figure skating competition between East German
Katarina Witt
and American
Debi Thomas
.
On February 22, 2010, CTV
's lead sportscaster
Brian Williams
did a skit with his namesake
, the anchor of NBC Nightly News
, at CTV
's Olympic set. Some in the media dubbed this the new "Battle of the Brians", as NBC's Williams compared his own modest set to CTV's expensive Olympic studio.
Figure skating
Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
rivalry between Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Brian Orser
Brian Orser
Brian Ernest Orser, OC is a Canadian retired competitive and professional figure skater. He is the 1984 and 1988 Olympic silver medalist, 1987 World champion and the 1981-1988 Canadian national champion....
and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Brian Boitano
Brian Boitano
Brian Anthony Boitano is an American figure skater from Sunnyvale, California. He is the 1988 Olympic champion, the 1986 and 1988 World Champion, and the 1985-1988 U.S. National Champion. He turned professional following the 1988 season...
at the 1988 Winter Olympics
1988 Winter Olympics
The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. The host was selected in 1981 after having beat Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...
in Calgary. It is considered one of the most memorable competitions in figure skating history.
Background
Brian OrserBrian Orser
Brian Ernest Orser, OC is a Canadian retired competitive and professional figure skater. He is the 1984 and 1988 Olympic silver medalist, 1987 World champion and the 1981-1988 Canadian national champion....
won the silver medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics
1984 Winter Olympics
The 1984 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIV Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated from 8–19 February 1984 in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. Other candidate cities were Sapporo, Japan; and Gothenburg, Sweden...
. Brian Boitano
Brian Boitano
Brian Anthony Boitano is an American figure skater from Sunnyvale, California. He is the 1988 Olympic champion, the 1986 and 1988 World Champion, and the 1985-1988 U.S. National Champion. He turned professional following the 1988 season...
placed fifth. Orser placed second at the 1985 World Figure Skating Championships
World Figure Skating Championships
The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...
, with Boitano one step below him. Boitano won the next year. When Orser won the 1987 Worlds, held in Cincinnati, Boitano knew he would have to make a change in his skating if he were to beat Orser at the Calgary Olympics
1988 Winter Olympics
The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. The host was selected in 1981 after having beat Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...
on Orser's home turf. He turned to choreographer Sandra Bezic
Sandra Bezic
Sandra Marie Bezic is a Canadian pair skater, figure skating choreographer, and television commentator. With partner and brother Val Bezic, she won the Canadian Figure Skating Championships from 1970–1974 and placed ninth at the 1972 Winter Olympics...
, who helped effect a major change in his skating style. Orser and Boitano were well-matched in many ways. Both were excellent skaters who had a jump as their signature move; Orser was well-known for his triple axel
Axel jump
The Axel is a figure skating jump with a forward take-off. It is named after the Norwegian skater Axel Paulsen, who first performed the jump in 1882. An Axel jump has an extra ½ rotation in the air due to its forward take-off...
and Boitano had invented the 'Tano triple lutz
Lutz jump
The Lutz is a figure skating jump, named after Alois Lutz, an Austrian skater who performed it in 1913. It is a toepick-assisted jump with an entrance from a back outside edge and landing on the back outside edge of the opposite foot.- Lutz technique:...
, a triple lutz with one arm raised above the head. Going into the Olympics, both were their country's nationals champions and favorites for the gold.
The competition
There were three phases of competition: the compulsory figuresCompulsory figures
Compulsory figures or school figures were formerly an aspect of the sport of figure skating, from which the sport derives its name. Carving specific patterns or figures into the ice was the original focus of the sport. The patterns of compulsory figures all derive from the basic figure eight...
, the short program, and the long program. Boitano was ahead after the compulsory figures, but Orser won the short program. At that time, figures counted for 30% of the score and the short program counted for 20%. The difference between Orser and Boitano was so small that the skater who won the long program would win the title. Adding to the excitement, both Boitano and Orser both had military-themed long programs.
Boitano was the first to skate. His program was technically perfect with no mistakes. His program, set to the music of "Napoleon", showed five stages in a soldier's life. Boitano landed eight triple jumps, two of them triple Axels
Axel jump
The Axel is a figure skating jump with a forward take-off. It is named after the Norwegian skater Axel Paulsen, who first performed the jump in 1882. An Axel jump has an extra ½ rotation in the air due to its forward take-off...
. Another signature move, a prolonged spread eagle
Spread eagle (figure skating)
The spread eagle is one of the moves in the field in the sport of figure skating, in which a skater glides on both feet, the toes turned out to the sides, heels facing each other. It can be performed on either the inside or outside edges. It is commonly used as an entrance to jumps, adding to the...
, lasted ten seconds. Boitano's scores were:
| Boitano | FRG Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
DEN Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... |
URS Soviet Union The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.... |
SUI Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
JPN Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
GDR German Democratic Republic The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city... |
CAN Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
TCH Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technical merit | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.9 |
| Artistic impression | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.9 |
| Placement | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Orser skated after him. His program was to "Dance of the Carter" and "Dance of Kozelkov and His Friends" from the ballet The Bolt by Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
. He had originally planned to do two triple axels, but decided at the last minute to do only one of them. He also stepped out of a triple flip
Flip jump
The flip jump is a figure skating jump which takes off a backward inside edge with a toe pick assist, and lands on the backward outside edge of the opposite foot.-Flip technique:...
towards the beginning. He landed seven triple jumps. Orser's scores were:
| Orser | FRG Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
DEN Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... |
URS Soviet Union The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.... |
SUI Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
JPN Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
GDR German Democratic Republic The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city... |
CAN Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
TCH Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technical merit | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.9 |
| Artistic impression | 5.9 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 6.0 |
| Placement | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
In a 5-4 split, the judges awarded Boitano the gold, and Orser his second Olympic silver medal. Though Orser won 4 judges' votes outright while Boitano won 3, two remaining judges that placed them with equal total mark gave Boitano higher technical mark, which was the tiebreaker. This was the last Olympics in which the technical mark was used as tiebreaker in the long program; in following years, the artistic mark was given precedence in the event of tie, which would have changed the split to 6-3 in Orser's favour.
Similar nicknames
At the same 1988 Winter Olympics, the "Battle of the CarmensBattle of the Carmens
The Battle of the Carmens is an informal name given to a figure skating rivalry between East German Katarina Witt and American Debi Thomas during the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. The competition is so named because both Witt and Thomas independently elected to skate to the music of Bizet's...
" was used to describe the rivalry in the ladies figure skating competition between East German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Katarina Witt
Katarina Witt
Katarina Witt is a German figure skater and model. In Germany she was commonly called "Kati" in the past, but today her full name is used more often....
and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Debi Thomas
Debi Thomas
Debra Janine "Debi" Thomas M.D. is an American figure skater and physician. She is the 1986 World champion and 1988 Olympic bronze medalist, having taken part in the Battle of the Carmens at those games.-Personal life:...
.
On February 22, 2010, CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
's lead sportscaster
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
Brian Williams
Brian Williams (sportscaster)
Brian Williams is a Canadian sportscaster who is best known for his coverage of the Olympic Games.-Biography:Williams' father was a very successful doctor...
did a skit with his namesake
Brian Williams
Brian Douglas Williams is the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, the evening news program of the NBC television network, a position he assumed in 2004...
, the anchor of NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
, at CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
's Olympic set. Some in the media dubbed this the new "Battle of the Brians", as NBC's Williams compared his own modest set to CTV's expensive Olympic studio.
See also
- 1988 Winter Olympics1988 Winter OlympicsThe 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. The host was selected in 1981 after having beat Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...
- Battle of the CarmensBattle of the CarmensThe Battle of the Carmens is an informal name given to a figure skating rivalry between East German Katarina Witt and American Debi Thomas during the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. The competition is so named because both Witt and Thomas independently elected to skate to the music of Bizet's...
- Figure skating at the 1988 Winter OlympicsFigure skating at the 1988 Winter OlympicsFigure skating at the 1988 Winter OlympicsThe events took place at the Stampede Corral and the Olympic Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.-Medal table:-Men's:-Free Skate final standings :Referee:* Sonia Bianchetti...