Kurt Browning (from Skaters of the Decade issue)

"I've been called kind of the poster child for these new pro-am events. Well, obviously, I enjoyed them, but I didn't set out at the beginning of the season for it to be that way this year ... Yes, I enjoyed it. I even won a couple, and that was fun, but I'm going to do some considering before I decide what I'll do next year." Kurt Browning 1999

Kurt Browning will always be remembered in the record books as the first skater to ever complete a quadruple jump in competition - a feat he accomplished at the 1988 World Championships. Besides being the Amateur Sports Federation of Canada's Athlete of the Year four times, he was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Association's Amateur Hall of Fame [1990] and received the Order of Canada in 1989. Browning also won four World titles from 1989-91 and in 1993, but he was unlucky in Olympic competitions. In 1988, he was on the cusp of greatness, finishing eighth. In 1992, a back injury hampered his efforts and he finished a disappointing sixth, the in 1994, mistakes in his short program took him out of the hung for the gold, and he finished fifth. With those disappointments behind him, Browning turned professional and joined the Stars On Ice tour. He also starred in three TV specials. His You Must Remember This special won five Gemini Awards including Best Variety Special. He also published his autobiography, Forcing the Edge. In the years since he became a professional skater he has become one of the sports most entertaining personalities and top competitors.