Showdown on Blades - Browning and Stojko square off...again

Want to get the inside track on which figure skater will be the favorite to win the men's singles title at the Olympic Games next month in Lillehammer, Norway? If the answer is yes, you should tune in Saturday when CTV offers the men's final from the Canadian figure skating champions at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

The event will feature a showdown between the defending Canadian and world champion Kurt Browning, 27, and perenninal runner-up Elvis Stojko, 21.

If Browning is No.1, Stojko has to be considered No. 1A. There has been little to choose between these two athletes over the past three years and Stojko seems determined to make a run for the top spot after too long a time spent playing second fiddle to the famed Browning. He has finished second to Browning in four Canadian championships as well as last year's world championships in Prague.

But Stojko thinks this might be his year and he is taking aim at Browning with an adventurous program which includeds a quadruple toe loop. Browning was the first skater to a land a quadruple jump in world competition in 1988, and Stojko hopes to match that feat on Saturday night. His routine calls for as many as eight triple jumps.

"I'm going for it," Stojko explained last month after he fell while attempting the quadruple jump during the Eastern Canada divisional competition in Sherbrooke, Que. "If you're always gunning to skate clean, you are not pushing your limits." On the rink, as in life, Stojko adds, "When you back down from a challenge, you're in trouble."

Stojko's attitude is reflected in his choice of music for the long program. He is skating to the theme from the movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. Stojko, who is trained in the martial arts, described the late superstar of fists and films, Lee, as an inspirational figure in his life.

"He fought for everything, had self-confidence and always worked to be better," explained Stojko, who unveiled his new routine late last year when he won a pre-Olympic competition in Norway.

While Stojko has been working on an all-new routine, Browning has decided to go with a golden oldie. His long program will be the familiar Casablanca routine which hie first used two years ago. he plans to go for six or seven triple jumps in his routine but is not expected to atttempt a quadruple.

Instead of his fabulous aerobatics, Browning has put much of his energy in developing a new short program, which he describes as his "lounge lizard" act. He received a standing ovation in November, 1993 when he unveiled the performance en route to a victory in the Skate Canada competition in Ottawa.

The winner Saturday night has to be regarded as the favorite for both the Olympic Games and the world championships in March. Browning's victory last year was his fourth world title in the past five years while Stojko, who has been on the medal podium in just the past two years, is regarded by many people as the best free skater in the world.

To use an old sportscaster's cliche: It doesn't get any better than this.