Kurt Browning

Born

1966-06-18

Birthplace

Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, Canada

Biography

Kurt Browning, CM (born June 18, 1966) is a Canadian figure skater, choreographer and commentator. He is the first skater to land a ratified quadruple jump in competition. He is a four-time World Champion and Canadian national champion. He represented Canada in three Winter Olympics, 1988 (finishing 8th overall), 1992 (6th), and 1994 (5th). He was awarded with a Lou Marsh Trophy for top Canadian Athlete (in 1990), Lionel Conacher Awards (1990 and 1991), an American Skating World Professional Skater of the Year Award (in 1998), and a Gustav Lussi Award from the Professional Skaters' Association (in 2001). He was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada (CM) in 1989. He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 2000, and World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2006. He was honored with a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in 2001. He received the inaugural ISU Skating Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. His other achievements include three Canadian Professional Championships and three World Professional Championships. He won the Canadian novice championships in 1983 and was the Canadian junior champion in 1985. He was the senior champion of Canada four times and came in second place three times. He won the World Championships four times, in 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1993. He came in second place at Worlds in 1992 due to a severe back injury that "had a particularly negative effect on his Olympic bid". He came in fifth place at the 1994 Winter Olympics. He earned the privilege of carrying the Canadian flag during the opening ceremonies of the 1994 games in Lillehammer, Norway. On March 25, 1988, at the 1988 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, he landed the first ratified quadruple jump, a toe loop in the competition. This accomplishment is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. He has been a regular color commentator for the CBC at major skating events since 2006. As a choreographer, he has choreographed programs for many figure skaters including: Tara Lipinski, Jeremy Abbott, Kevin Alves, Patrick Chan, Vaughn Chipeur, Marc-André Craig, Alissa Czisny, Javier Fernández, Takeshi Honda, Brian Joubert, Carolina Kostner, Takahiko Kozuka, Evan Lysacek, Brandon Mroz, Jamie Salé / David Pelletier, Yuka Sato. He also co-directed and choreographed the 2011–12 Stars on Ice tour. He married Sonia Rodriguez, a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada, on June 30, 1996. Their first son, Gabriel, was born on July 12, 2003, and their second son, Dillon, was born on August 14, 2007. They are now divorced. He married professional figure skater Alissa Czisny on August 11, 2022. ​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.