The year 1994 was huge for Stojko. He won the silver
medal at the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer,
Norway, narrowly defeated by Alexei Urmanov. That
same year, Stojko won the world championships in
Japan, skating to music fromDragon: The Bruce Lee
Stor y(1993), and landing a quadruple jump in com-
petition. Stojko also won Skate Canada that year and
was awarded the title of Canadian Male Athlete of
the Year. In 1995, he repeated his championship
performance.
The 1996 world championships were held in Ed-
monton, Alberta. Stojko fell in a combination jump
in his short program but landed the only quadruple
combination jump in the competition, bringing him
from seventh place to fourth. In the 1997 Grand Prix
Finals, he made history by being the first man to suc-
cessfully land a quadruple-triple combination jump
in his free-skate program. He went on to win the
Grand Prix and then the world championships, be-
coming a three-time world champion.
One month before the 1998 Olympic Games,
while skating at the Canadian National Champion-
ships, Stojko suffered a minor groin injury. He con-
tinued to train for the upcoming Olympics in
Nagano, Japan, where he was favored to medal, and
did not mention his injury. A few days before his
event, Stojko came down with a serious case of the
flu. Undaunted, he still planned to compete. On the
day of his short program, a few hours before his com-
petition, Stojko further injured his groin during
practice. He managed to win the silver medal in spite
of his horrific pain. As a result, he was recognized by
many Canadians as a national hero.
Impact Following his performance at the 1998
Olympic Games, Stojko was revered by many in the
skating community for his determination.
Further Reading
Shulman, Carole.The Complete Book of Figure Skating.
Champaign, Ill.: Human Kinetics, 2002.
Stojko, Elvis.Heart and Soul.Toronto: Rocketeer,
1997.
Kathr yn A. Cochran
See also Browning, Kurt; Olympic Games of 1992;
Olympic Games of 1994; Olympic Games of 1998;
Sports.
Storm of the Century
The Event An extreme winter storm kills more
than forty people
Date March 12-15, 1993
Place Eastern United States and Canada
An immense storm made up of tornadoes, high winds,
and unusually heavy snows immobilized the Atlantic
coastal region of North America for days, resulting in a
high death toll and billions of dollars in damages.
As early as five days before it struck, meteorologists
using newly advanced technology were able to
predict the threat of an unseasonably severe snow-
storm. Weather satellite photos revealed a large
mass of Arctic air traveling south as the jet stream
looped down into the Gulf of Mexico before turning
northeastward along the Atlantic coast. While this
pattern itself is not unusual, computer models
generated alarming meteorological data predict-
ing a nontropical storm of unprecedented mag-
nitude. Forecasters initially dismissed the reports
as errors; however, as similar findings continued
to emerge, the National Weather Service issued
strongly worded warnings to the public sector, and
emergency relief agencies went into action.
On the night of March 11, 1993, a cold front
streaming south over warm air in the Gulf of Mexico
created spectacular thunderstorms resulting in a
huge spinning storm, or cyclone. Forecasters were
unable to predict the speed and ferocity of the sys-
tem as it traversed the gulf. Many Florida residents
were surprised when the entire state was swept by
an eighteen-hour onslaught beginning the night of
Friday, March 12. Torrential rains, hurricane-force
winds, a storm surge of up to twelve feet, and fifteen
tornadoes slammed into the state. Up to six inches of
snow fell in the northwestern panhandle. Weather-
related hazards resulted in over forty deaths and
extensive property damage.
The storm roared northward into the Atlantic
coastal regions, razing crops, flooding streets, smash-
ing marinas, and eroding shorelines. Frequent wind
gusts in excess of eighty miles per hour uprooted
trees and downed power lines. Similar damage con-
tinued as the storm blasted the entire coastline, and
at least eighteen Long Island homes were swept into
the ocean. Near Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia, the
freighterGold Bond Conveyorsank in sixty-five-foot
seas. All thirty-three crew members were lost.The Nineties in America Storm of the Century 815