Tara Lipinski
Encyclopedia
Tara Kristen Lipinski is an American figure skater
. At the age of 15, she won the Ladies' Singles Olympic
gold medal in figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics
. Lipinski remains the youngest individual gold medalist in the history of the Olympic Winter Games. She is also the 1997 World Champion
, two-time Champions Series Final Champion (1997–1998) and 1997 U.S. Champion
.
, the daughter of Patricia (née
Brozyniak), a secretary, and Jack Richard Lipinski, an oil executive and lawyer. She spent her earliest years in Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey
. The family lived in Sewell, New Jersey
until 1991. Lipinski began roller skating
at age three and later won a number of competitions. She began figure skating at age six. Her first competition was the 1990 regional championship, where she finished second. At the 1991 United States Roller Skating Championships, she won the primary girls freestyle as a nine-year-old.
In 1991 her father's job required the family to move to Sugar Land, Texas
. However, training facilities were not available there. In 1993, Lipinski and her mother moved back to Delaware, where she had trained before. She later moved to Detroit, Michigan
to train with Richard Callaghan
.
and second in the junior level at the 1995 United States Figure Skating Championships
. By that time, Lipinski was the subject of a great deal of media attention.
After a disappointing fifth-place finish at the 1996 World Junior Championships, Lipinski changed coaches from Jeff Di Gregorio at the University of Delaware
to Richard Callaghan
in Detroit. Moving up to the senior level, she benefited from the withdrawal of Nicole Bobek
from the 1996 U.S. Championships to place third and qualify for the World Figure Skating Championships
, where she placed fifteenth.
That year, the International Skating Union
voted to raise the minimum age for participating at the World Championships to 15. Lipinski, who was 13 at the time, was grandfathered
into remaining eligible for future events, along with other skaters who had already competed at the World Championships before the new age requirement was introduced.
In 1997, Lipinski unexpectedly won the U.S. Championships
and, at 14, became the youngest person to win the title ahead of Sonya Klopfer
who won it in 1951 at the age of 15. She went on to win the World Championships
, again becoming the youngest person to win the title. At the 1996 U.S. Postal Challenge, Lipinski became the first female skater to land a triple loop/triple loop
jump combination, which became her signature element. Lipinski also won the 1997 Champion Series Final, again becoming the youngest female ever to win the title.
The following season, Lipinski got off to a shaky start, finishing second to Michelle Kwan
at Skate America
and, while suffering from a bad head cold, to Laetitia Hubert
at Trophée Lalique. With Kwan sidelined with a toe-related stress fracture injury, Lipinski successfully defended her Champion Series Final title (now known as the Grand Prix Final), skating cleanly. At the 1998 U.S. Nationals, Kwan and Lipinski met again, but after an uncharacteristic fall on the triple flip in the Short Program, Lipinski ended the night in 4th place with Kwan in 1st place. Although she rallied to land seven triples in the Long Program, she still finished second to Kwan, who had skated one of the best long programs of her life.
Going into the 1998 Winter Olympics
, Lipinski embraced the experience, living in the Olympic village, experiencing all that Nagano had to offer, and mingling with other competitors. Lipinski skated her short program to music from the animated movie "Anastacia." Many claimed that this demonstrated her immaturity, especially in comparison to Kwan's artistic brilliance. Tara skated perfectly however, and burst into a wide grin after landing the triple flip that had cost her the previous National title. At the end of the evening however, Kwan had secured 1st place going into the long. On the evening of the long program Kwan skated first in the final group of skaters. While technically flawness, many claimed she did not skate with the carefree manner she had exhibited in the short. As Lipinski took the ice, one of the television commentators announced, "She marched through the opening ceremonies, she's attended events, she's played video games, she's met everyone from Akebono to Tipper Gore, and now she skates for gold." Lipinski skated a technically stronger program than Kwan with seven triples, including a historic triple loop triple loop combination and, at the very end of her long program, a triple toe half loop triple salchow sequence. Lipinski bounded across the ice as her music ended, punching her fists in the air and smiling from ear to ear. She became the youngest ever ladies Olympic Figure Skating Champion and the youngest individual gold medalist in Winter Olympic history. The former record will stand forever unless the current age rules are relaxed.
extracted, constant fatigue, and possible mononucleosis
.
On April 7, 1998, Lipinski announced her intention to turn professional in an interview with Katie Couric
on the Today Show. She cited a desire to spend more time with her family, to have time for school, and to compete professionally against other Olympic champions. However, given the opportunities available to a newly crowned Olympic Champion, Lipinski took on full schedule of touring, publicity appearances, and acting engagements, albeit that they required constant travel. She was also heavily criticized by some for her decision to retire from competition at such a young age; for example, Christine Brennan
, writing in USA Today
, compared the pro skating circuit to "joining the circus." However, the criticism aimed at Lipinski was labelled by one commentator as "petty backlash" following her defeat of the expected-winner Kwan at the Nagano Olympics.
In the spring and summer of 1998, Lipinski toured with Champions on Ice
. She then
toured with Stars on Ice
for four seasons. Lipinski appealed to a younger audience, attracting new fans to what had traditionally been an adult-oriented show. Her signing to Stars on Ice was reported as a coup for the tour, which at that time was doing well, with some performances routinely selling out months in advance. Choreographic Sandra Bezic commented, "Tara reminds us why we're doing this – the idealism, the genuine love of skating. There's a real sweetness there that makes us all go, 'Yeah, I remember' ". Lipinski generally received favorable reviews and was popular with fans, sometimes signing autographs for hours after each show.
Lipinski's decision to turn pro coincided with a change in the business climate for the skating industry. After the 1998 Olympics, many of the pro skating competitions that had sprung up in the aftermath of the 1994 Tonya Harding
spectacle were converted to a pro-am format or discontinued entirely as audiences lost interest. Lipinski did not want to compete in the new pro-am events, and
not long after she turned professional, she broke an existing $1.2 million contract to appear in made-for-TV events sponsored by the USFSA. Instead, she skated only in the remaining all-pro competitions, which were primarily team events such as Ice Wars
. Her most notable individual victory came at the 1999
World Professional Figure Skating Championships
; at age 17, she became the youngest person to win that event.
Lipinski's professional skating career was hampered by a series of hip injuries. In August 1998, Lipinski suffered a hip injury in practice for Stars On Ice
. After a string of other injuries, she underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage in her hip in September 2000. Lipinski suffered another hip injury in 2002 during a Stars on Ice show in St. Louis
, when she fell hard on her right hip during a jump, and then tore muscles around the bruised area the next day.
Many people have pointed to the repetitive stress of practicing the triple loop
combinations Lipinski performed during her competitive days as the primary cause of her hip problems. Lipinski herself has issued contradictory statements about the timing, cause, and severity of her injuries. After her surgery in 2000, she stated in interviews that the real reason she had turned professional was that she had originally incurred the injury to her hip in the summer of 1997 and that she had skated the entire Olympic season in terrible pain, contradicting her earlier account of the original injury having occurred in the summer of 1998 rather than in 1997. More recently, in a 2010 statement on her web site, Lipinski denied that her hip injury was a factor in her decision to retire or that she suffered particular pain during her amateur career beyond "the norm for any athlete."
Lipinski participated in rehearsals for a fifth season of the Stars on Ice tour in the fall of 2002, but withdrew from the tour before it began. She had been increasingly unhappy with life on the tour; she felt isolated from the off-ice camaraderie of the older skaters on the tour, and her injuries caused friction with the show's producers and other cast members. She later wrote on her official web site, "It was really hard those last two years of touring for me. Emotionally I was drained and hurt. I have never been treated like that in my whole life." In later interviews she also expressed frustration with the artistic direction of the show at that time. For example, reviewers had particularly panned the rap ensemble performed by Lipinski with Kristi Yamaguchi
and Katarina Witt
in the 2001–2002 tour.
Although Lipinski did not make any formal announcement of her retirement from skating, she has not skated since the fall of 2002, and has instead concentrated on acting.
She has made several television
appearances, which have included guest roles on a number of primetime shows ('"Are You Afraid of the Dark?
", 'Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
, Malcolm in the Middle
, Veronica's Closet, Early Edition, 7th Heaven
and Still Standing
), as well as a cameo in the theatrical film
Vanilla Sky
. Lipinski also played a brief supporting role on The Young and the Restless
in 1999, starred in the TV movie Ice Angel in 2000, and was cast in the independent film The Metro Chase. Additionally, she has been a celebrity guest on VH-1's The List, Fox's Beach Party, several Nickelodeon productions, Girls Behaving Badly, and has appeared on numerous magazine covers as well as every major talk show. In 1999, CBS aired a primetime special, Tara Lipinski: From This Moment On.
Lipinski now spends most of her time in Los Angeles.
Lipinski is now a sports commentator for Universal Sports
for figure skating.
named Lipinski the 1997 Female Athlete of the Year. Lipinski is particularly proud of the recognition she has received from fans. In 1999 and 2000 she was voted Best Female Athlete at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. In 1999, she won Best Female Athlete at the inaugural Fox Teen Choice Awards. She received similar awards from Teen People and Teen magazine. She has been recognized by the American Academy of Achievement, the Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership Foundation, and many other organizations. In 2006, Lipinski was the youngest ever inductee into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
and Denzel Washington
, Lipinski is a national spokesperson for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. She is also a spokesperson for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Childhood Leukemia Foundation. Lipinski is also involved with the Office of National Drug Control Policy's anti-drug campaign. Her anti-drug public service announcement aired nationwide on TV and in theaters in 2000.
She is also dedicated to helping children in need, through the Make-A-Wish Foundation
and the Children's Circle of Care, the philanthropic
organization for children's hospitals nationwide. She has also supported St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and numerous cancer research efforts.
Her portfolio of endorsements includes McDonald's
, Charles Schwab
, Chevrolet
, Snapple
, DKNY
, Minute Maid
, Capezio
, Mattel
, Campbell's Soup, Autoweb.com, Kellogg's, Coca Cola, Kleenex
, Kodak, Hallmark Cards
, McDonald's
, Office Depot
, Smuckers, Target
and others. Lipinski has also been on the runway for Limited Too!. Lipinski has two official books in print: Totally Tara – An Olympic Journey and Triumph On Ice. In additional there are numerous unofficial biographies, including:
'Tara Lipinski: Queen of the Ice', Bill Gutman,
'Tara Lipinski: Superstar Ice-Skater', Stasia Ward Kehoe,
'Tara Lipinski (Sports Superstars)', Richard Rambeck,
'On Ice with Tara Lipinski', Matt Christopher,
'Tara Lipinski (Champion Sports Biographies)', Annis Karpenko,
'Tara the Road to Gold', Wendy Daly,
'Tara Lipinski (Awesome Athletes)', Jill Wheeler,
'Tara Lipinski (Female Skating Legends)', Veda Boyd Jones.
– Tara Lipinski (Jam Session), Terri Dougherty
– Tara Lipinski: Star Figure Skater, Barry Wilner
Figure skating
Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
. At the age of 15, she won the Ladies' Singles Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
gold medal in figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics
Figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics
-Medal table:-Medalists:-Men:The favourites and top two after the short program were Ilia Kulik and Elvis Stojko, who would skate first and last, respectively. Medal contenders Alexei Yagudin, Todd Eldredge and Philippe Candeloro went in between...
. Lipinski remains the youngest individual gold medalist in the history of the Olympic Winter Games. She is also the 1997 World Champion
World Figure Skating Championships
The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...
, two-time Champions Series Final Champion (1997–1998) and 1997 U.S. Champion
United States Figure Skating Championships
The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...
.
Early life
Lipinski, an only child, was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, the daughter of Patricia (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Brozyniak), a secretary, and Jack Richard Lipinski, an oil executive and lawyer. She spent her earliest years in Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey
Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey
Washington Township is a township in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States. In the 2010 United States Census, Washington Township's population was 48,559, having grown from 47,114 in the 2000 Census....
. The family lived in Sewell, New Jersey
Sewell, New Jersey
Sewell is an unincorporated area within Mantua Township in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States. Sewell also refers to part of Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey, which is not part of Mantua Township. Locals refer to the Sewell part of Mantua as Old Sewell...
until 1991. Lipinski began roller skating
Roller skating
Roller skating is the traveling on smooth surfaces with roller skates. It is a form of recreation as well as a sport, and can also be a form of transportation. Skates generally come in two basic varieties: quad roller skates and inline skates or blades, though some have experimented with a...
at age three and later won a number of competitions. She began figure skating at age six. Her first competition was the 1990 regional championship, where she finished second. At the 1991 United States Roller Skating Championships, she won the primary girls freestyle as a nine-year-old.
In 1991 her father's job required the family to move to Sugar Land, Texas
Sugar Land, Texas
Sugar Land is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and Fort Bend County. Sugar Land is one of the most affluent and fastest-growing cities in Texas, having grown more than 158 percent in the last decade. In the time period of 2000–2007, Sugar Land also enjoyed a...
. However, training facilities were not available there. In 1993, Lipinski and her mother moved back to Delaware, where she had trained before. She later moved to Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
to train with Richard Callaghan
Richard Callaghan
Richard Callaghan is an American figure skating coach. He is best known as the long-time coach of Todd Eldredge, 6-time U.S. Champion and 1996 World Champion. He also coached Nicole Bobek to her national title, and Tara Lipinski to U.S., World, and Olympic titles.As a competitive skater,...
.
Competitive career
Lipinski first came to national prominence when she won the 1994 U.S. Olympic Festival competition, which at the time was a junior-level competition. She became the youngest ladies figure skating gold medalist as well as the youngest athlete in any discipline to win gold. Later that season she placed fourth at the 1995 World Junior Figure Skating ChampionshipsWorld Junior Figure Skating Championships
The World Junior Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which younger figure skaters compete for the title of World Junior Champion...
and second in the junior level at the 1995 United States Figure Skating Championships
United States Figure Skating Championships
The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...
. By that time, Lipinski was the subject of a great deal of media attention.
After a disappointing fifth-place finish at the 1996 World Junior Championships, Lipinski changed coaches from Jeff Di Gregorio at the University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...
to Richard Callaghan
Richard Callaghan
Richard Callaghan is an American figure skating coach. He is best known as the long-time coach of Todd Eldredge, 6-time U.S. Champion and 1996 World Champion. He also coached Nicole Bobek to her national title, and Tara Lipinski to U.S., World, and Olympic titles.As a competitive skater,...
in Detroit. Moving up to the senior level, she benefited from the withdrawal of Nicole Bobek
Nicole Bobek
Nicole Bobek is an American figure skater. She is the 1995 U.S. Champion and World bronze medalist.-Biography:An only child, Bobek was raised by her Czech mother, Jana, and her friend Joyce Barron...
from the 1996 U.S. Championships to place third and qualify for the World Figure Skating Championships
World Figure Skating Championships
The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...
, where she placed fifteenth.
That year, the International Skating Union
International Skating Union
The International Skating Union is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Netherlands in 1892, making it one of the oldest international...
voted to raise the minimum age for participating at the World Championships to 15. Lipinski, who was 13 at the time, was grandfathered
Grandfather clause
Grandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...
into remaining eligible for future events, along with other skaters who had already competed at the World Championships before the new age requirement was introduced.
In 1997, Lipinski unexpectedly won the U.S. Championships
1997 United States Figure Skating Championships
The 1997 United States Figure Skating Championships were the United States Figure Skating Championships of the 1996-1997 figure skating season. They were a national championship to determine the national champions of the United States....
and, at 14, became the youngest person to win the title ahead of Sonya Klopfer
Sonya Klopfer
Sonya Klopfer Dunfield is an American figure skater. She is the 1951 U.S. national champion. Having won at age 15, she was the youngest U.S. ladies' champion until Tara Lipinski won in 1997 at age 14. Klopfer is a two-time World medalist...
who won it in 1951 at the age of 15. She went on to win the World Championships
1997 World Figure Skating Championships
The 1997 World Figure Skating Championships were the World Figure Skating Championships of the 1996-1997 season. Elite senior-level figure skaters from ISU Member Nations competed for the title of World Champion. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies singles, pair skating,...
, again becoming the youngest person to win the title. At the 1996 U.S. Postal Challenge, Lipinski became the first female skater to land a triple loop/triple loop
Loop jump
The Loop jump is a figure skating jump that takes off from a back outside edge and lands on the same backwards outside edge. For a jump with counterclockwise rotation, this is the right back outside edge. It is named from its similarity to the loop compulsory figure. The invention is widely...
jump combination, which became her signature element. Lipinski also won the 1997 Champion Series Final, again becoming the youngest female ever to win the title.
The following season, Lipinski got off to a shaky start, finishing second to Michelle Kwan
Michelle Kwan
Michelle Wingshan Kwan is an American figure skater. She is a two-time Olympic medalist, a five-time World champion and a nine-time U.S...
at Skate America
Skate America
Skate America is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. It is organized by the United States Figure Skating Association. The location changes yearly...
and, while suffering from a bad head cold, to Laetitia Hubert
Laetitia Hubert
Laetitia Hubert is a French figure skater. She won the French national ladies' singles title two times, and competed in four Winter Olympic Games . She is a contemporary of French teammate Surya Bonaly.-Biography:Hubert began skating at three years old. She finished 21st at her World Championship...
at Trophée Lalique. With Kwan sidelined with a toe-related stress fracture injury, Lipinski successfully defended her Champion Series Final title (now known as the Grand Prix Final), skating cleanly. At the 1998 U.S. Nationals, Kwan and Lipinski met again, but after an uncharacteristic fall on the triple flip in the Short Program, Lipinski ended the night in 4th place with Kwan in 1st place. Although she rallied to land seven triples in the Long Program, she still finished second to Kwan, who had skated one of the best long programs of her life.
Going into the 1998 Winter Olympics
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...
, Lipinski embraced the experience, living in the Olympic village, experiencing all that Nagano had to offer, and mingling with other competitors. Lipinski skated her short program to music from the animated movie "Anastacia." Many claimed that this demonstrated her immaturity, especially in comparison to Kwan's artistic brilliance. Tara skated perfectly however, and burst into a wide grin after landing the triple flip that had cost her the previous National title. At the end of the evening however, Kwan had secured 1st place going into the long. On the evening of the long program Kwan skated first in the final group of skaters. While technically flawness, many claimed she did not skate with the carefree manner she had exhibited in the short. As Lipinski took the ice, one of the television commentators announced, "She marched through the opening ceremonies, she's attended events, she's played video games, she's met everyone from Akebono to Tipper Gore, and now she skates for gold." Lipinski skated a technically stronger program than Kwan with seven triples, including a historic triple loop triple loop combination and, at the very end of her long program, a triple toe half loop triple salchow sequence. Lipinski bounded across the ice as her music ended, punching her fists in the air and smiling from ear to ear. She became the youngest ever ladies Olympic Figure Skating Champion and the youngest individual gold medalist in Winter Olympic history. The former record will stand forever unless the current age rules are relaxed.
Professional career
On March 9, 1998, Lipinski announced her decision to withdraw from the 1998 World Figure Skating Championships, citing a serious glandular infection that required her to have two molarsMolar (tooth)
Molars are the rearmost and most complicated kind of tooth in most mammals. In many mammals they grind food; hence the Latin name mola, "millstone"....
extracted, constant fatigue, and possible mononucleosis
Mononucleosis
Mononucleosis , is a disease most commonly caused by the Epstein-Barr virus . The EBV virus affects the lymphocytes- white blood cells that battle infections by attacking antibodies. Mononucleosis can also be caused by Cytomegalovirus , a herpes virus most commonly found in body fluids...
.
On April 7, 1998, Lipinski announced her intention to turn professional in an interview with Katie Couric
Katie Couric
Katherine Anne "Katie" Couric is an American journalist and author. She serves as Special Correspondent for ABC News, contributing to ABC World News, Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America, This Week and primetime news specials...
on the Today Show. She cited a desire to spend more time with her family, to have time for school, and to compete professionally against other Olympic champions. However, given the opportunities available to a newly crowned Olympic Champion, Lipinski took on full schedule of touring, publicity appearances, and acting engagements, albeit that they required constant travel. She was also heavily criticized by some for her decision to retire from competition at such a young age; for example, Christine Brennan
Christine Brennan
Christine Brennan is an American sports columnist, TV and radio commentator, best-selling author and nationally-known speaker....
, writing in USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, compared the pro skating circuit to "joining the circus." However, the criticism aimed at Lipinski was labelled by one commentator as "petty backlash" following her defeat of the expected-winner Kwan at the Nagano Olympics.
In the spring and summer of 1998, Lipinski toured with Champions on Ice
Champions on Ice
Champions on Ice was a touring ice show in the United States. The show featured a large cast of both professional and Olympic-eligible figure skaters along with novelty acts such as skating acrobats. The shows were focused primarily on solo performances by the skaters rather than ensemble work or...
. She then
toured with Stars on Ice
Stars on Ice
Stars on Ice is a touring figure skating show produced by IMG. It was originally conceived in 1986 as a vehicle for IMG client Scott Hamilton, who had been released from his contract with Ice Capades, after being told that male skaters do not sell tickets...
for four seasons. Lipinski appealed to a younger audience, attracting new fans to what had traditionally been an adult-oriented show. Her signing to Stars on Ice was reported as a coup for the tour, which at that time was doing well, with some performances routinely selling out months in advance. Choreographic Sandra Bezic commented, "Tara reminds us why we're doing this – the idealism, the genuine love of skating. There's a real sweetness there that makes us all go, 'Yeah, I remember' ". Lipinski generally received favorable reviews and was popular with fans, sometimes signing autographs for hours after each show.
Lipinski's decision to turn pro coincided with a change in the business climate for the skating industry. After the 1998 Olympics, many of the pro skating competitions that had sprung up in the aftermath of the 1994 Tonya Harding
Tonya Harding
Tonya Maxine Harding is an American figure skating champion. In 1991 she won the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and placed second in the World Championships. She was the second woman, and the first American woman, to complete a triple axel jump in competition...
spectacle were converted to a pro-am format or discontinued entirely as audiences lost interest. Lipinski did not want to compete in the new pro-am events, and
not long after she turned professional, she broke an existing $1.2 million contract to appear in made-for-TV events sponsored by the USFSA. Instead, she skated only in the remaining all-pro competitions, which were primarily team events such as Ice Wars
Ice Wars
Ice Wars is an annual elite figure skating team competition. The first Ice Wars took place in 1994. The competition format is "Team World" vs. "Team USA" or "Team North America". The 2005 competition was one exception, with the format changed to a "Battle of the Sexes" format, Men vs. Ladies...
. Her most notable individual victory came at the 1999
World Professional Figure Skating Championships
World Professional Figure Skating Championships
The World Professional Figure Skating Championships, often referred to as Landover, was an elite made-for-TV figure skating competition. It was created by Dick Button, a 2-time Olympic gold medalist, through his production company Candid Productions. It usually took place in December...
; at age 17, she became the youngest person to win that event.
Lipinski's professional skating career was hampered by a series of hip injuries. In August 1998, Lipinski suffered a hip injury in practice for Stars On Ice
Stars on Ice
Stars on Ice is a touring figure skating show produced by IMG. It was originally conceived in 1986 as a vehicle for IMG client Scott Hamilton, who had been released from his contract with Ice Capades, after being told that male skaters do not sell tickets...
. After a string of other injuries, she underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage in her hip in September 2000. Lipinski suffered another hip injury in 2002 during a Stars on Ice show in St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, when she fell hard on her right hip during a jump, and then tore muscles around the bruised area the next day.
Many people have pointed to the repetitive stress of practicing the triple loop
Loop jump
The Loop jump is a figure skating jump that takes off from a back outside edge and lands on the same backwards outside edge. For a jump with counterclockwise rotation, this is the right back outside edge. It is named from its similarity to the loop compulsory figure. The invention is widely...
combinations Lipinski performed during her competitive days as the primary cause of her hip problems. Lipinski herself has issued contradictory statements about the timing, cause, and severity of her injuries. After her surgery in 2000, she stated in interviews that the real reason she had turned professional was that she had originally incurred the injury to her hip in the summer of 1997 and that she had skated the entire Olympic season in terrible pain, contradicting her earlier account of the original injury having occurred in the summer of 1998 rather than in 1997. More recently, in a 2010 statement on her web site, Lipinski denied that her hip injury was a factor in her decision to retire or that she suffered particular pain during her amateur career beyond "the norm for any athlete."
Lipinski participated in rehearsals for a fifth season of the Stars on Ice tour in the fall of 2002, but withdrew from the tour before it began. She had been increasingly unhappy with life on the tour; she felt isolated from the off-ice camaraderie of the older skaters on the tour, and her injuries caused friction with the show's producers and other cast members. She later wrote on her official web site, "It was really hard those last two years of touring for me. Emotionally I was drained and hurt. I have never been treated like that in my whole life." In later interviews she also expressed frustration with the artistic direction of the show at that time. For example, reviewers had particularly panned the rap ensemble performed by Lipinski with Kristi Yamaguchi
Kristi Yamaguchi
Kristine Tsuya "Kristi" Yamaguchi-Hedican is an American figure skater. She is the 1992 Olympic Champion in ladies' singles. Yamaguchi also won two World Figure Skating Championships in 1991 and 1992 and a U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1992. She won one junior world title in 1988 and two...
and Katarina Witt
Katarina Witt
Katarina Witt is a German figure skater and model. In Germany she was commonly called "Kati" in the past, but today her full name is used more often....
in the 2001–2002 tour.
Although Lipinski did not make any formal announcement of her retirement from skating, she has not skated since the fall of 2002, and has instead concentrated on acting.
She has made several television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
appearances, which have included guest roles on a number of primetime shows ('"Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Are You Afraid of the Dark? may refer to:* Are You Afraid of the Dark?, a 1992 television series* Are You Afraid of the Dark? , a 2004 novel by Sidney Sheldon...
", 'Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (TV series)
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch is an American sitcom based on the Archie comic book series of the same name.The show stars Melissa Joan Hart as Sabrina Spellman, a teenager with magical powers, who lives with her aunts Hilda and Zelda , and their magical talking cat Salem...
, Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
, Veronica's Closet, Early Edition, 7th Heaven
7th Heaven
7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...
and Still Standing
Still Standing (TV series)
Still Standing is an American sitcom television series. It debuted on CBS on September 30, 2002, and ended March 8, 2006. Lifetime obtained the United States syndication rights to the show in February 2005 and aired it until 2009...
), as well as a cameo in the theatrical film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Vanilla Sky
Vanilla Sky
Vanilla Sky is a 2001 American psychological thriller film directed, co-produced and co-written by Cameron Crowe. The film is an English-language remake of the 1997 Spanish movie Abre los ojos , the screenplay for which was written by Alejandro Amenábar and Mateo Gil...
. Lipinski also played a brief supporting role on The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
in 1999, starred in the TV movie Ice Angel in 2000, and was cast in the independent film The Metro Chase. Additionally, she has been a celebrity guest on VH-1's The List, Fox's Beach Party, several Nickelodeon productions, Girls Behaving Badly, and has appeared on numerous magazine covers as well as every major talk show. In 1999, CBS aired a primetime special, Tara Lipinski: From This Moment On.
Lipinski now spends most of her time in Los Angeles.
Lipinski is now a sports commentator for Universal Sports
Universal Sports
Universal Sports is an American television network that airs various sports, primarily those contested in the Olympic Games, including swimming, gymnastics, cycling, track and field, figure skating, skiing, bobsledding and triathlon.-Programming:...
for figure skating.
Awards and recognition
The year before her Olympic win, the U.S. Olympic CommitteeUnited States Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic Committee is a non-profit organization that serves as the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States and coordinates the relationship between the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency and various...
named Lipinski the 1997 Female Athlete of the Year. Lipinski is particularly proud of the recognition she has received from fans. In 1999 and 2000 she was voted Best Female Athlete at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. In 1999, she won Best Female Athlete at the inaugural Fox Teen Choice Awards. She received similar awards from Teen People and Teen magazine. She has been recognized by the American Academy of Achievement, the Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership Foundation, and many other organizations. In 2006, Lipinski was the youngest ever inductee into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
Philanthropic work, endorsements, and publications
With Shaquille O'NealShaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...
and Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
, Lipinski is a national spokesperson for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. She is also a spokesperson for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Childhood Leukemia Foundation. Lipinski is also involved with the Office of National Drug Control Policy's anti-drug campaign. Her anti-drug public service announcement aired nationwide on TV and in theaters in 2000.
She is also dedicated to helping children in need, through the Make-A-Wish Foundation
Make-A-Wish Foundation
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501 non-profit organization founded in the United States that grants wishes to children who have life-threatening medical conditions. The charity now operates in forty-seven countries around the world through thirty-six affiliate offices.The president & CEO of this...
and the Children's Circle of Care, the philanthropic
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
organization for children's hospitals nationwide. She has also supported St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and numerous cancer research efforts.
Her portfolio of endorsements includes McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab may refer to:*Charles M. Schwab , American steel magnate*Charles R. Schwab , founder of the eponymous brokerage*Charles Schwab Corp., an American based brokerage firm...
, Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
, Snapple
Snapple
Snapple is a brand of tea and juice drinks which is owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group and based in Plano, Texas. The brand was founded in 1972. The brand achieved some notoriety due to various pop-culture references including television shows.-History:...
, DKNY
DKNY
DKNY is a label of fashion designer Donna Karan. It is also the name of a clothing store in New York City featuring Donna Karan's associated line.-History:...
, Minute Maid
Minute Maid
Minute Maid is a product line of beverages, usually associated with lemonade or orange juice, but now extends to soft drinks of many kinds, including Hi-C...
, Capezio
Capezio
Capezio is the trading name of Capezio Ballet Makers Inc, a specialist manufacturer of dance shoes, apparel and accessories.-History:Ballet Makers, Inc., of Totowa, New Jersey, was founded in 1887 by Salvatore Capezio....
, Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
, Campbell's Soup, Autoweb.com, Kellogg's, Coca Cola, Kleenex
Kleenex
Kleenex is a brand name for a variety of toiletry paper-based products such as facial tissue, bathroom tissue, paper towels, and diapers. The name Kleenex is a registered trademark of Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. Often used as a genericized trademark, especially in the United States, "Kleenex"...
, Kodak, Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards is a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was awarded the National Medal of Arts....
, McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, Office Depot
Office Depot
Office Depot is a supplier of office products and provides many services. The company's selection of brand name office supplies includes business machines, computers, computer software and office furniture, while its business services encompass copying, printing, document reproduction, shipping,...
, Smuckers, Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
and others. Lipinski has also been on the runway for Limited Too!. Lipinski has two official books in print: Totally Tara – An Olympic Journey and Triumph On Ice. In additional there are numerous unofficial biographies, including:
'Tara Lipinski: Queen of the Ice', Bill Gutman,
'Tara Lipinski: Superstar Ice-Skater', Stasia Ward Kehoe,
'Tara Lipinski (Sports Superstars)', Richard Rambeck,
'On Ice with Tara Lipinski', Matt Christopher,
'Tara Lipinski (Champion Sports Biographies)', Annis Karpenko,
'Tara the Road to Gold', Wendy Daly,
'Tara Lipinski (Awesome Athletes)', Jill Wheeler,
'Tara Lipinski (Female Skating Legends)', Veda Boyd Jones.
– Tara Lipinski (Jam Session), Terri Dougherty
– Tara Lipinski: Star Figure Skater, Barry Wilner
Programs
| Season | Short Program | Long Program | Exhibition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–1998 | Anastasia | The Rainbow | |
| 1996–1997 | Little Women | Much Ado About Nothing Sense and Sensibility |
|
Eligible
| Event | 1993–94 | 1994–95 | 1995–96 | 1996–97 | 1997–98 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympics | 1st | ||||
| World Championships World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion... |
15th | 1st | |||
| World Junior Championships World Junior Figure Skating Championships The World Junior Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which younger figure skaters compete for the title of World Junior Champion... |
4th | 5th | |||
| U.S. Championships United States Figure Skating Championships The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters... |
2nd N. | 2nd J. | 3rd | 1st | 2nd |
| Champions Series Final Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final The Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final is an international, senior-level figure skating competition. It is the culmination of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Skaters compete in men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.... |
1st | 1st | |||
| Skate America Skate America Skate America is an international, senior-level figure skating competition held as part of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. It is organized by the United States Figure Skating Association. The location changes yearly... |
2nd | ||||
| Skate Canada International Skate Canada International The Skate Canada International is an international, senior-level invitation-only figure skating competition organized by Skate Canada. It is the second competition of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. The location changes yearly. Medals are awarded in four disciplines: Ladies' singles, Men's... |
2nd | ||||
| Trophée Lalique | 3rd | 2nd | |||
| Nations Cup Bofrost Cup on Ice The Bofrost Cup on Ice was a figure skating competition held in Germany between 1986 and 2004. It was part of the Grand Prix series until 2003, when it was replaced by Cup of China. Following being booted out of the Grand Prix series, a new form of competition was introduced to the Bofrost Cup... |
2nd | ||||
| Nebelhorn Trophy Nebelhorn Trophy The Nebelhorn Trophy is an international senior-level figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union and held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany. The competition is named after the Nebelhorn, a nearby mountain.... |
4th |
- N = Novice level; J = Junior level
Professional
- 1998 Skate TV Championships: 1st
- 1998 Ice Wars: 1st (Team USA)
- 1998 Jefferson Pilot Financial Championships: 1st
- 1999 Team Ice Wars: 2nd (Team USA)
- 1999 Ice Wars: 1st (Team USA)
- 1999 Grand Slam Super Teams of Skating: 1st
- 1999 World Professional Championship: 1st
- 2001 World Ice Challenge: 1st (Team USA)
- 2002 Ice Wars: 1st (Team USA)