#tbt The First Quad

All this talk of quads reminded me that the first person to ever land a quad in competition was 4-time World Champion Kurt Browning, who vaulted from 9th place after the short program to win the World Championship in March of 1988 after landing the quad on one foot.

It wasn't the most flawless quad ever landed, but it was the first solid, deduction-less one.

Don't believe me? It's in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Interestingly, Browning later confessed that he was surprised quads didn't catch on more quickly after his first. It took another decade or so before men started performing them regularly, and another few years after that before they became pretty much essential to winning. Sheesh, you'd think popping off quads was difficult or something.

And here's a video of that historic freeskate: