Kurt Browning in 1994 at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. Browning is now returning the to the world of competitive skating. (Shaun Botterill/ALLSPORT)
It has been a while since Kurt Browning, one of Canada's greatest skaters, has competed in an official ISU event, but that is about to change. He's bringing back the famous routine he performed for CBC-TV, Singing in The Rain, to compete against some of the best in the world.
Hey figure skating fans, you too Dads, this is my first stab at writing here at CBCSports.ca.
Skating has taken me on a different path this summer. To be straightforward, it means I am back in training. Well, sort of.
My professional career has not had any competitive events in quite a few years, but that will change with a unique competition in Japan called the Medal Winners Open. It has forced me to be more organized about my summer training.
To be honest, I sometimes do not even have summer training, but this is a little different and deserves attention, especially because I am performing Singing in The Rain after 17 years.
I went seven weeks in early summer without being on the ice, but I have been skating since Aug 5 at the Granite Club in Toronto and taking regular lessons with Doug Haw. Doug was able to get Brian Orser to land a triple axel at the age of 40 and that little bit of magic was enough for me.
Doug has been amazing and our goal is to be the best I can for this competition. This event has an emphasis on the artistic side, so it is bound to be fun.
I had a dream of doing a triple axel but just did not believe in myself enough and had to put it aside to focus on everything else. When I am doing Singing in The Rain with the hat, jacket and especially the umbrella the triple axel was not going to happen. At first, it was hard to do even the double axel, but eventually the jumps started working with all the gear.
The event is being run under the ISU (International Skating Union) which means I will be judged for the first time under the new system. It is not totally the same system they use at Worlds, not even close, but just a taste of the demands on the skaters at that level has been an eye opener for me. More on that later.
So, I leave next week for this event and will check in with you along the way. Here is the list of my competitors and as you can see it is an exciting list.
Jeffrey Buttle
Phillippe Candelero
Takeshi Honda
Ilia Kulik
Alexei Yagudin
I look forward to an exciting event and a wonderful season.Personally, I love the fact that I am finally doing Singing in The Rain again. It was only performed once in a CBC-TV special almost two decades ago and this Sandra Bezic jewel needs to be seen.
This version will be much different than what you can see on YouTube because of the rules, but I am proud of what Doug and I put together. When I perform it again on Stars On Ice it will change a bit yet again.
This season is also interesting because it is like Saturday at a golf tournament, this is the moving year. If a skater is going to make a stand, it has to be now.
There truly is so much to look forward to, but for now I need to get on my bike and head over to the Granite Club to continue my training. Not used to saying this, but my coach is expecting me.
Kurt BrowningKurt Browning is one of Canada’s greatest figure skaters. During his stellar career, he won four men’s world titles (1989, ’90, ’91 and ’93) and competed in three Olympic Games. At the 1988 world championships, he became the first skater to land a verified quad jump in competition. Born and raised in Alberta, Kurt now lives in Toronto. He was co-host of the hit CBC show Battle of the Blades.
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Kurt Browning in 1994 at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. Browning is now returning the to the world of competitive skating. (Shaun Botterill/ALLSPORT)
Kurt Browning
Kurt Browning is one of Canada’s greatest figure skaters. During his stellar career, he won four men’s world titles (1989, ’90, ’91 and ’93) and competed in three Olympic Games. At the 1988 world championships, he became the first skater to land a verified quad jump in competition. Born and raised in Alberta, Kurt now lives in Toronto. He was co-host of the hit CBC show Battle of the Blades.
