Olympic Features: Mind Games

Brian Orser's Olympic comeback

Last Updated: Thursday, January 28, 2010 | 3:55 PM ET

By Nancy Wilson, CBC Sports

Brian Orser never felt he won silver at the Calgary Olympics.

He lost gold.

That's the trouble with silver. For those touted to win gold, it can feel like a consolation prize.

In 1988, I was in Calgary's Olympic Saddledome, watching Orser skate against Brian Boitano. It was thrilling to watch "the Battle of the Brians."

I was nervous for Orser — my palms were actually sweaty. If I could barely handle the pressure, how the heck could he? But he was poised, strong, he nailed all the jumps. It may not have been perfect, but it was pretty close. Trouble is, American Brian Boitano was just that much closer to perfection.

I remember seeing Orser just hours after the competition and he seemed shattered. He admits now it took years before he could watch the tape of his silver-medal performance. That speaks volumes about post Olympic trauma.

But that was then, this is now, which happens to be a happy time. These days Orser is busy, confident, focused and again, going for gold — not as a skater but as a coach.

Orser is working with a number of rising stars, including South Korean sensation, Yu-Na Kim, who has a good shot at winning gold in Vancouver.

Orser says he doesn't see her success as his redemption. "This is her time, her chance to triumph."

But you have to think if she does win, Orser can bask in some of the golden glow that eluded him in Calgary.