January 27, 1988 | Volume 68, Issue 4

U.S. champ Brian Boitano may not try a quadruple toe loop like this at the Games, but he'll give winning a spin

Now that he has added artistry to his superior athleticism, Brian Boitano is no longer merely a skating robot

Once known as the Alydar of figure skating, Canada's Brian Orser has been affirmed as the man to beat in Calgary now that he has won a world championship. After a silver medal at the Sarajevo...

Former skating star Barbara Ann Scott glides on smoothly

As the Games draw near, preparations for them fill Debi Thomas's waking hours. Follow the U.S. women's figure skating champion through a typical day

The Games produce far more nonwinners than winners. Some have been real beauts. Calgary promises more

The action at the Saddledome will be as fast and furious as around this Soviet net

The Swedes have a chance to beat the mighty Soviets, thanks to a brainy, creative style of play

Young Sean Burke has the heavy duty of guarding the home country's net against rival forces

Brian Leetch, the 'next great' U.S. player, eyes Calgary

Calgary has the Winter Olympics; Inuvik, in the Arctic, has winter

With a twitch of a shoulder or twist of the toes, a luger steers a 60-mph sled down the serpentine run

Markus Prock is a world champ, but an Olympic underdog

Bonny Warner faced a lot of very tough sledding, but now she could become America's first medal-winner

Inspired by the Olympic quest for excellence, the author offers new ideas for sports and equipment

No competitors will have a higher ol' time at the Winter Games than the ski jumper

Austria's Andreas Felder (above) and Ernst Vettori are hot in the chillingly spectacular sport of ski jumping

A Finnish husband and wife can both be first-place finishers

There'll be a hot time in Calgary, host city of the Winter Olympics, where the mood is go-go-go when it comes to business or partying

Josh Thompson, who grew up amid the wildlife in U.S. parks, has his sights set on the world's best biathletes

Jan Bucher and ballet skiing, a demonstration event, have been battling their hot-dog reputations for a long time

Record after record will fall in Calgary's skating dome, which contains hockey and figure skating rinks as well as the oval

Bonnie Blair and Nick Thometz could bring home the first U.S. medals since the days of Eric Heiden

Leo Visser of the Netherlands has a score to settle with a pesky Norwegian rival as he chases Olympic gold

Canada's Gaetan Boucher, who won gold in Sarajevo, wants to repeat his triumph for the home folks

In cold, forbidding Manchuria, China is working toward Olympic glory—but not in Calgary in 1988

After considerable head-scratching and soul-searching, SI's resident experts list the athletes who shouldtake home Calgary's 138 Olympic medals

Canada is the home-country favorite

[Gold]Canada[Silver]U.S.S.R.[Bronze]Sweden

Finland's Matti Nykänen will steal the show

Two Carmens will battle for the women's gold

Tough sledding for some, a bit too easy for one

The Swiss will rule the slopes of Mount Allan

There'll be some hot times at the Olympic Oval

There's money, big money, in them thar slopes—and rinks. All you have to do is win an Olympic gold medal or two

The U.S. hopes to rock the world in the hotly contested demonstration sport of—don't laugh—curling

A 2,887-mile train trip across Canada yielded rare insights into that vast country

The Winter Olympics have a fairy-tale aura

The high-flying Pirmin Zurbriggen (right) will lead a formidable Swiss ski team in a massive assault on the slopes of Mount Allan. The goal: a lode of Alpine gold

So strong are its men and women skiers, the team from Switzerland may come close to a clean medal sweep

At one point in her life, the most enthralling place senior editor Julia Lamb had ever visited was Winnipeg, Canada. "My family drove up there from our home in North Dakota, 120 miles, and I...

It's conceivable that Pirmin Zurbriggen, the big cheese on the Swiss team, will win a record five gold medals

Tiny Luxembourg proudly presents Marc Girardelli, a transplanted Austrian who may beat the mighty Swiss

The Tlalka twins, Dorota and Malgorzata, left their native Poland to make sweet ski music for France

Canadian downhillers take inspiration from a quartet of daring Canucks who put the country on the map in skiing

As many will attest, collecting the tiny, colorful Olympic souvenirs can be addictive—and profitable

ABC still smarts over the price of the rights

The bobsledders who win on the Canada Olympic Park run will probably beat 80 mph on their way to gold

The East German-Swiss rivalry is redolent of cold war fiction

For the U.S. team, sculptor Jerome Malinowski created a beautiful bob that he thought would go fast. He was right

Ever wondered what keeps a ski jumper flying or a luger on track? Here are some answers