After winning the Canadian and World Figure
Skating Championships in 1990 and 1991, Kurt
Browning was expected to do well in the 1992 Olym-
pics in Albertville, France. However, the gold medal
was awarded to Viktor Petrenko of the Soviet
Unified Team. Browning won sixth place, and fellow
Canadian Elvis Stojko followed, coming in seventh
that year. Browning made a comeback in 1993 to win
once again both the Canadian and world champion-
ships. In 1994, Browning tried once more to win an
Olympic medal in Lillehammer, Norway. After hav-
ing the honor of carrying in the Canadian flag at the
opening ceremony, Browning fell short of achieving
a medal and received fifth place. Alexei Urmanov
of Russia won the gold medal, and Browning’s
colleague and teammate Stojko received the silver
medal. It was Browning’s last chance of winning
an Olympic medal because he then turned profes-
sional in the 1994-1995 season. Shortly thereafter,
on June 30, 1996, Browning married Sonia Rodri-
guez, a principal dancer in the National Ballet of
Canada.
Throughout the decade, Browning won numer-
ous skating awards, including the Lou Marsh Award
(Canada’s Outstanding Athlete) in 1990, Sports
Federation of Canada—Top Male Athlete in 1991
and 1993, an induction into Canada’s Sports Hall
of Fame in 1994, and the American Skating World
Professional Skater of the Year Award in 1999. In
1998, Browning received the highest possible
honor bestowed by the International Skating
Union, the Jacques Favart Trophy. Browning has
also been the subject of two television documenta-
ries:Tall in the Saddle(1990) andLife on the Edge
(1992). Other noncompetitive appearances on
television includeAladdin on Ice(1995, as Aladdin),
Scott Hamilton: Upside Down(1996),Snowden on Ice
(1997), Sesame Park (1997), and The Snowden,
Raggedy Ann and Andy Holiday Show (1998, as
Raggedy Andy).
Impact Browning has received various accolades
not only for his ability to perform but also for the way
he entertains an audience while skating. He is both
well known and well loved for his ability to execute
intricate footwork, complete elaborate technical
jumps, and show off his artistic talent, all while hav-
ing fun.
Further Reading
Browning, Kurt, with Neil Stevens.Kurt: Forcing the
Edge.Toronto: HarperCollins, 1992.
Shulman, Carole.The Complete Book of Figure Skating.
Champaign, Ill.: Human Kinetics, 2002.
Kathr yn A. CochranSee also Olympic Games of 1992; Olympic Games
of 1994; Sports; Stojko, Elvis. Buchanan, Pat
Identification American politician, commentator,
and U.S. presidential candidate in 1992 and
1996
Born November 2, 1938; Washington, D.C.
Buchanan’s fier y speech at the Republican National Con-
vention of 1992 helped define the profound differences
within American culture known as the culture wars that
emerged during the decade.
In the early 1960’s, Pat Buchanan became theSt.
Louis Globe-Democrat‘s youngest editorial writer in the
newspaper’s history. He quickly rose through the
ranks at the paper and was an early supporter of
Richard M. Nixon. Buchanan became an opposi-
tional researcher for the Nixon campaign in 1968
and subsequently worked in the White House as an
adviser to the president. During the Watergate scan-
dal, Buchanan urged Nixon to burn the tapes, but
he was never accused of any wrongdoing. He
emerged in the early 1980’s as a television commen-
tator and later became an adviser in the Ronald Rea-
gan administration.
In 1992, Buchanan parlayed his success on televi-
sion and political service with a surprisingly strong
campaign for the presidency. He challenged the Re-
publican incumbent George H. W. Bush in the pri-
maries and won 38 percent of the vote in New Hamp-
shire on a platform of nationalism, immigration
reduction, and opposition to multiculturalism, gay
rights, and abortion. Buchanan was part of a resur-
gence of conservative values among people dissatis-
fied with the direction that popular culture had
taken.
Though Buchanan later supported the first Presi-
dent Bush in his election bid, in return for his sup-
port Buchanan requested a prime-time speaking
spot at the Republican National Convention. In124 Buchanan, Pat The Nineties in America