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February 15, 1988, Page 00001Buy Reprints The New York Times Archives

FOR the last four years, they have stalked each other, only occasionally in close proximity. For all their intensity and electricity, those times only served as a tease for the ultimate showdown.

Now it is here, the men's figure skating competition of the XV Olympic Winter Games, the stage upon which someone named Brian is likely to skate into the history of the sport. Will it be Brian Orser or Brian Boitano? The question was posed the moment Scott Hamilton of the United States retired, soon after his stunning performance at the 1984 Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, where he won the gold.

From then till now, two men have elbowed their way to the fore, two men named Brian: one a delicate Canadian, the other a forceful American, each with a graceful style of his own.

Orser of Canada: an eight-time national champion, 26 years old, the hep cat, the jitterbug, his programs allegro.

Boitano of the United States: a four-time national champion, 24 years old, a taller, stronger figure with more flowing lines and moves, his programs andante.

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They are each well-decorated, Orser a little more so. He was second to Hamilton in 1984 and second in the world championships from 1984 through 1986, the year Boitano won it. Last year, he won it, with Boitano second. Boitano was fifth at Sarajevo, sixth at the worlds in 1984, and third at the worlds in 1985.

None of that counts now. They will skate their long programs in the military-style outfits befitting their music, but neither will have past awards decorating his chest. Competition Starts Wednesday

The men's competition will begin Wednesday morning with the compulsory figures, followed by the short program Thursday night and the long program Saturday evening. Both skaters will surely win a medal; one will likely win the gold.

If Orser is the slight favorite among a field of 31, it is for the most pragmatic of reasons. He is from Penetanguishene in southeast Ontario, and he is a national hero here. In October, he won Skate Canada, a prestigious international competition in which Boitano finished second. Debbie Wilkes, a former Canadian pairs champion who is now a television commentator, was crying on the air, choked with emotion.

Orser, she told viewers, ''is a credit to his country, a credit to his sport.''

Boitano can walk the streets of his hometown Sunnyvale, Calif., and barely turn a head. Two Poor Showings

But there could be a leveling factor here that could push them onto the ice dead even. That factor is how well Orser can rebound from a severely flawed long program in the Canadian championships last month in Victoria, British Columbia.

After a stunning short program, for which he earned seven 5.9's for technical merit and seven perfect 6.0's for artistic impression, his confidence was high.

He spoke that night of Boitano's new short program, which had brought him eight 6.0's for artistic impression in the United States championships in Denver. Orser had watched Boitano that night on television, as well as the European Championships that Aleksandr Fadeyev of the Soviet Union won the following week.

''For Brian, it was great, but I feel my program is better,'' Orser said.

Later, he was asked how he would feel if he skated to the best of his ability in the Olympics and finished second to Boitano.

''If I skate my best,'' Orser replied, ''I'll win.''

It was a lofty prediction, but a reasonable assumption in the momentary context. The following night, performing his long program, he was out of synch the whole way, falling twice on triple axel attempts and cutting two other triple jumps to doubles.

Speaking to reporters later, he seemed dazed. ''At least my costume looked good,'' he said. ''I have no idea what happened. I'm in a state of shock''

Any skater will tell you it's all ''up here,'' meaning in the mind. The ear hears the music, the mind remembers the choreography, the and limbs respond as trained. But the slightest quirk can set the program off - a missed beat, a rut in the ice, an instant of lost concentration. At any point, chaos can ensue. Boitano's Tiredness Shows

It happened to Boitano in Denver, an episode not unlike what happened to Orser but for different reasons. The scheduling that night was running late, and Boitano finished shortly before 1 A.M.

Later, he admitted to being tired the whole week, and it finally showed.

''After my short program,'' he said, ''there was sure to be a letdown. I like to have a breakdown. Either in practice or competition, it's always good, bad, good, bad, up and down. As soon as something is great, I know I'm going to fall. When I'm down in a valley, I know I'm going to get up to a peak again.''

After Victoria, Orser retreated to the comfort of an entourage that includes Dr. Peter Jensen, a psychologist who works with all the Canadian figure skaters. Not so coincidentally, Orser began working with Jensen after the 1986 world championship in Geneva, the last time he fell on a triple axel.

The skaters meet with Jensen often, and since Victoria, Orser has consulted him on his own at least twice a week, working on a technique called visual imagery.

''The closer to the Olympics, the more in touch I was with Dr. Jensen,'' Orser said today. ''Lately, I've talked to him every day.''

After Denver, Boitano returned his coach of 16 years, Linda Leaver, and resumed practice.

It was to be several weeks before Boitano learned of Orser's remarks in Victoria. The two maintain a friendship - Boitano sent Orser a birthday card last year and, as a joke, did not sign it - and Orser's words neither surprised nor stung him.

''Nobody can be so arrogant,'' Boitano said. ''Or he wouldn't spend time watching me or Fadeyev on television. Why would you watch if you weren't scared?'' Contrasting View

Another difference emerges: ''If I skate my best,'' Boitano said, ''I have no idea what will happen. I have never won an Olympic medal. If I get one, that would be great. I was fifth the last time; if I skate my best, I would feel great about myself.''

Fadeyev, a 24-year-old from Moscow, is not to be taken lightly. He is the third one-time world champion in the field, the 1985 winner, and he has been tinkering with a quadruple toe loop, a jump never completed in competition. He had planned to try one at the Europeans, but cut it to three rotations. Boitano considered one for the nationals, then decided against it. Rather, Leaver decided against it. He has completed them in practice, and they are dazzling.

''I haven't decided to do it yet,'' Fadeyev said upon his arrival here. ''Maybe I'll do it. I'll decide the night before.''

Whether he does one or not, it is hard to imagine him passing both Brians for the gold medal. For anyone else to do so would be an upset of epic proportions.

Their most recent long programs notwithstanding, each has pronounced himself confident, ready and eager to prove that he is the Brian for the ages.

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