The Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics Film - Part 4 | Olympic History

[@PthaloGreen2]

I love both of these skaters. Two iconic humans. They should both be incredibly proud of their accomplishments. Boitano deserved the gold, but I feel sad that Orser couldn't get it too. Love to both!

[@ladyvictoria8]

Brian Boitano's best performance...best music..ever...can watch it over and over

[@TheGirard4]

Do you know where to find a copy? I've looked on KZbin and the only version I've found is when he did it again at the World's later that year. I can't find a copy of Calgary.

[@starsmoon0216]

This was a great moment in Olympic history. I remember watching this program and being so happy that Brian Boitano won the gold. It was so close but Boitano deserved the gold with his performance. The music and choreography was second to none. To me, he is the best mens skater in Olympic history.......I'd love to see the entire program again..

[@booboolori9362]

I will never get tired of watching Brian Boitano in his Olympic performance! Brilliant, just brilliant!

[@debracase2610]

Brian Boitano's performance was, is, the most beautiful thing on ice I have ever seen. Pure poetry.

[@theresabollman8061]

Yes, Debra. Thats why it's so hard to take when Judges cheat and make deals. Sorry but Canada is not one to play fair very often.

[@trudimarrapodi6722]

Canada?? Why do you accuse Canada??

[@michellepeugeot883]

It was an incredible performance and I remember it was what everyone was talking about. It began my love of figure skating and to this day remains one of my favorite performances of all time. It was so great because Brian Orser was incredible and really hard to beat. I am not a bit surprised that he will most likely be known as the greatest coach of all time. His performances with Stars on Ice were very memorable.

[@weekendhacker]

I remember watching this and thinking Boitano had it when Orser flubbed the landing on the triple flip. He might not have fell, but it was an obvious mistake and Boitano made no mistakes. To me the result was clear.

[@mht4908]

Same here, I was confused by how high Orser's marks were, yes it wasn't a huge mistake considering the circumstances, but Boitano's program that night was miles above Orser's. Not to mention that Boitano had 2 3As whereas Orser chose to do a 2A for his second attempt

[@trudimarrapodi6722]

I will never understand why some people just can't agree that Brian Boitano deserved to win, and have to keep griping that he didn't win by a bigger margin.

[@lupitaarroyo]

So good! Really enjoyed watching this. The two Brians, real class acts = )

[@paul-zx5du]

Technical score decided champion. Completely fair. 👍🏼

[@matthewhines9787]

No offense meant to the fabulous Orser, but I wonder how he could've been so surprised to lose to a perfect artistic and technically more difficult program when he admittedly had an error and omitted the jump that won him worlds?

[@theresabollman8061]

Matthew Hines...perfectly said. They say Orser was not in on the fix to benefit himself...but I have to wonder why then he expected to win when he had not matched Boitanos level of perfection???

[@carterwilson4605]

I read or heard him say somewhere that he had seen Boitano's planned content sheet and didn't think he was going to be doing a second triple axel.

[@MEMORIA1316]

I remember watching this with my family. We recorded it on VHS. It was an amazing competition, and yes, I did shed a tear at the end. I love Boitano's long program. I, too, would love for someone to post the ENTIRE UNINTERRUPTED performance (have long since lost the VHS!). All I can find is the one from the '88 Worlds when he falls on the quad, and some retrospectives with highlights of his '88 olympics long program. Please post! Thanks!

[@bobby67401]

Go to dailymotion and do a search for brian boitano gold medal performance 1988 and it should be the top one.

[@sandih29687]

MEMORIA1316 That night my ex-husband had invited a couple to come over and play Trivial Pursuit. Needless to say, he didn't ask me first. They left at 11:00pm and my VHS tape had almost run out. Turned on the TV and saw Boitano's chin trembling as the Anthem was being played. That was the best feeling I ever had watching the Olympics--except for when we beat the Russians in hockey.

[@theresabollman8061]

Hard to listen to some of this... it wasn't enough that they low-balled Brian B unfairly, and looked past Brian O's error and his skipping one of his loops, even giving him one score of 6.0... but to have to listen to Brain O go on as if it was hard not be called the winner when he'd skated so "perfectly". I hope he has grown up a lot more over these years.

[@nowaylaowai204]

Was Orser's performance good? Yes. Was it worthy of a 6.0 for artistic merit? No.

[@GunsNRoses1123]

Yeah it was annoying that he thought he would win, he was so sure that he even skipped a jump.

[@theresabollman8061]

@@GunsNRoses1123 It's been a yr or so since I wrote my comment. And I deliberately didn't read it until I re-watched the video and had my reply to you ready. I have not altered one bit. It's still all there. The disgust with biased or paid off judges. Brian B's perfection in not eliminating any jumps, failing any, or lessening any. Brian O doing all of those...and yet still talking as if he should have won. Maybe it's the reason he didn't skate as well. I don't know. But I've had no respect for him after that. My personal way to "judge" a performance is by how much I enjoy a performance...as in can't take my eyes away. And Brian B was mesmerizing. And as always humble & kind in the end. I love skaters from both countries, but must admit Brian B is my all time favorite.

[@Sephiroth766]

He didn’t watch his friends routine. Had he did he would have known to do the triple axel. He skated not to lose and assumed he’d be named the winner.

[@debsong10]

I wish there was at least one video on KZbin of Brian Boitano's entire gold-medal winning long program at the 1988 Olympics instead of just highlights.

[@debsong10]

Carol Gillie Great! Thanks Carol!

[@nowaylaowai204]

???? I've watched his entire 1988 Olympic long program for years. I just did a search and it came up.

[@JonnyTainment]

2:19 Did they know at the time this would be the last figure skating contest in Olympic history that consisted of compulsory figures? Since then, just about every artistic sport like gymnastics and diving have deleted compulsory exercises from their competitions. I may be old but I feel something's missing without some sort of compulsories.

[@jacquelinerussell8530]

JonnyTainment Totally Agree it's all.about somersaults and quadruple axles Sadly

[@sandih29687]

At one time, the compulsory figures counted for as much as 60% of the final score. When in 1972 the woman who won the gold medal just did a single jump, waved her arms around waltzed out with the gold. Third place was Janet Lynn. The spectators in Sapporo gave Janet a standing O.

[@nowaylaowai204]

Eliminating school figures meant the competition would be skewed in favor of younger, lighter competitors who could do the jumps. I think Carlo Fassi said eliminating school figures would turn figure skating into gymnastics on ice, and he was right.

[@waynehentley4332]

@@sandih29687 Not true! Trixie did several jumps!

[@JeannettePaladino]

I feel the artistry was much higher then. Today, the skaters are so focused on making their quads that artistry takes a second seat. The transitions are all about getting ready for the next quad. They lack artistry. Technical skills are important but they need to be combined with artistry as well. These performances by the Brians can still stand up today's skaters.

[@bonnefoisaurelie2630]

Have you ever watched a Yuzury Hanyu program ? Or patrick chan ? Or javier Fernandez ? Then you would know that you can have gorgeous quads AND breathtaking artistry. Yuzuru Hanyu in particular has almost no preparation into his jumps and could do triple axels in his sleep.

[@renabalmes1472]

Have you watched Nathan Chen? He has it all!!!!

[@barbaraburton8914]

I agree. I thought that this Olympics as I was watching. The artistry is no longer a big part of the sport. I still think that Nathan Chen won clearly, but overall it is the quads now. When will it be quints?

[@Olympics]

Tell us your memories from the Calgary Winter Games in the comments section!

[@matthewhines9787]

I was in utero.

[@krystalnulisch8013]

I was almost 1 lol

[@mht4908]

"The Olympic Champion just doesn't fall" In Albertville 1992, every single women from the medal contending group fell, allowing Kristi Yamaguchi to be Olympic champion despite falling on her triple loop. Other than Midori Ito's successful 2nd triple axel attempt, it was a very underwhelming free skate for the entire group because no one performed to their capabilities

[@trudimarrapodi6722]

Yep, that's the sad part. Nobody carped at Kristi Yamaguchi for falling or for then deciding to do a double salchow instead of a triple...that was considered smart strategizing, because she won anyway, but Brian Orser got ripped to shreds by the public for the flawed triple flip not going all out with the second triple axel.

[@mht4908]

@@trudimarrapodi6722 I think the difference was that those 2 things were what cost him the gold medal, especially when Boitano had the skate of his life, Orser needed to be perfect, and he wasn't

[@trudimarrapodi6722]

@@mht4908 And he didn't know he had to be, because he hadn't watched Boitano skate. He focused on his own program.

[@mht4908]

@@trudimarrapodi6722 And from what I recall, the only time Kristi managed to land a triple salchow was in 1992 Nationals, so it was actually smart of her to double it since she already made a mistake

[@anthonyalzamora4566]

the film’s director Bud Greenspan is seen walking past the camera at 1:10.

[@waynehentley4332]

In 1984, it was Scott's turn, although he had an off-night. Orser was brilliant but must have been told that 1988 would be his turn and he was convinced it was for four years! Imagine waiting for four years just to lose out!!

[@trudimarrapodi6722]

How do you know that? You paint him as going in as if he assumed he was a shoo-in. That wasn't the impression I got.

[@waynehentley4332]

@@trudimarrapodi6722 1988 was his turn. That's how things worked back then unfortunately!!

[@trudimarrapodi6722]

@@waynehentley4332 I don't believe in "turns," and I doubt Brian Orser did either. Even in those days, singles skating was never that cut and dried--at least not as much as ice dance. If you really believe you're competing in a sport, you don't assume you're going to get a "turn" to win. You assume you have to earn it. But that doesn't mean you always know exactly what you need to do to beat a given competitor on a given night, or that the only "true" champions are those who skate lights out to win. Everything depends on the night. I don't know of too many skaters other than Katarina Witt who were known for watching their competitors skate--if they had drawn to skate later--noting what they did, and then did just what they needed to do to beat them and no more.

[@beeharbour]

@@trudimarrapodi6722 Orser freely admitted that if it was close, he'd win because it was his home country and judges had in fact told him it was his turn. It later came out that the Soviet judge went against a deal with the Canadians to put Orser first, no matter what. Orser bears no responsibility for that necessarily.

[@purrformance]

Brian orsers voice makes me feel so sad at the end :(

[@커피타임-b3p]

30年前のオサ😊ハンサンボイ💃可愛い顔今も変わらないですね🎵

[@FatimaMarques0890]

Boitano's performance was amazing. But Orser...God, that man slayed it. He was nervous, yet performed so smoothly and beautifully. Orser has passed that on his pupils.

[@SavagePersonified90]

How did everyone not know they were both gay in 1988? Had they never met gay people before???

[@dancingnancy09]

I know right?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@chrisg4584]

People didn't know!?! I was too young to remember this olympics, but I'd assumed that everyone knew

[@pallafox]

People didn't pay attention to that in the 80's as majority thought being gay was being flamboyant exclusively and none of these guys nor George michael were flamboyant enought for the masses to accept they were gay.

[@jacquelinerussell8530]

SavagePersonified90 I know Boitano came out but not Canada's Orser

[@weekendhacker]

jacqueline russell um Orser came out in the 90s by force when he was outed by a former boyfriend in a palimony suit.

[@jacquelinerussell8530]

He Orser knew that after Boitano's performance he would have to skate the perfect program. Translation no errors He failed.

[@trudimarrapodi6722]

No, he didn't. HE DIDN'T WATCH BOITANO SKATE.

[@sherrygriggs9228]

I have always felt that Orser was a sore loser. This video does not disprove that. Boitano's program was far superior to Orser's. I will never understand why he was considered to be more artistic than Boitano. On that night, he was not. Brian was superior technically and artistically.

[@jacquelinerussell8530]

The fix was definitely in But the judges couldn't cheat that bad in favor of Orser It is what it is Skating is a subjective sport unfortunately

[@EEDiazL]

Is it me, or Linda Leaver's daughter looks like the girl from The Exorcist?! And after almost 30 years Brian Orser still does not accept his performance was not as good as Boitanos! Orser's stepped out 3Flip, Doubled 3Axel, and 2Axel into 3Toe weren't enough to overtake Boitano's 2 3Flips one of them in Combo with a 3Toe, 2 3Axels plus Boitanos. Camel, Sit, Combination and Sit Scratch Spins vs Orser's mediocre spins-all of them the same type except 2 of them were with jump/Camel sequences.

[@trudimarrapodi6722]

What do you mean, after almost 30 years Brian Orser doesn't accept it? What evidence do you have of that? None but your own personal opinions in which you tear down his skating, jumps, spins and all. Well, you know what they say about opinions...

[@appleseed2613]

What the heck is going on with Brian Orser's voice in this? Was he not an adult?

[@weekendhacker]

No he was the bubble boy.

[@trudimarrapodi6722]

What is your problem? He had a higher voice then than he does now. And Brian Boitano never sounded like Barry White himself. What's it to ya?

[@metsdudenj]

It never should have been this close. Had Boitano skated last he would have won 8 of the 9 judges. The fact that FOUR voted for Orser is criminal, but I figured the Communist bloc would be against Boitano of course

[@tally1604]

east germany voted for boitano. and canada and yugoslavia - a neutral country friendlier at the time with the west than moscow - went with orser. which kind of debunks your communist block conspiracy.

[@lionsfandc9123]

@@tally1604 No, GDR voted for Orser, along with FRG, CAN & TCH; Boitano was first w/ USA, URS, SUI, DEN & JPN

[@lionsfandc9123]

@@tally1604 Nope...Soviet judge gave Boitano 5.9, 5.8, and gave Orser 5.8, 5.8

[@tally1604]

@@lionsfandc9123 you're right. My bad. But the sentiment still stands. The Soviet judge - not the GDR one - had boitano first, which negates block judging conspiracy theories. Some eastern block judges had boitano first, while some western ones had orser first. The split here wasn't ideological or political.

[@tally1604]

@@lionsfandc9123 I remember watching it on tv as a kid in what was then the Soviet union, and i could have sworn the commentator said that our - Soviet - judge voted for orser, which he didn't agree with. But my recollections are of course imperfect, given that a whopping 32 years have passed.

[@innanuzhna1742]

I wish Alexander Fadeev won that Olympics

[@waynehentley4332]

Absolute nonsense!!!

[@paul-zx5du]

So glad they got rid of those compulsory scores.

[@letsdothis3332]

Miss Brianna Orser also had the pressure of skating in front of a home crowd. But sho hate it.

[@trudimarrapodi6722]

Is calling him a name supposed to be funny? What are you, 12?

[@letsdothis3332]

@@trudimarrapodi6722 yes

[@theresabollman8061]

Canadian judges...Biased, they need to learn to be fair.

[@trudimarrapodi6722]

What is this with criticizing Canadian judges?