|
|
|
|
| Birth Name(s) : Tara Lipinski |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
|
Partner:
|
| Profession:
Model |
| << Add Tara Lipinski To Your Favorites |
|
Full Tara Lipinski Biography
Tara Kristen Lipinski (born June 10, 1982) is an American figure skater and celebrity. At the age of 15, she won the Olympic gold medal in figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics, and remains the youngest gold medalist in the history of the Olympic Winter Games.
Lipinski is the only child of Patricia Brozyniak Lipinski and Jack Richard Lipinski, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1982. 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.
In 1997, Lipinski unexpectedly won both the U.S. and World Championships, and, at the age of 14, became the youngest person ever to win either 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.
The following season, Lipinski got off to a shaky start, losing to Michelle Kwan at Skate America, to Laetitia Hubert at Trophee Lalique, and to Kwan again at the 1998 U.S. Championships.Tara Lipinski performs a layback spin.
At the 1998 Winter Olympics, both Lipinski and Kwan skated excellent programs, with Lipinski winning a narrow victory. Many people believe that Lipinski was aided by the fact that she skated near the end of the last group, as Kwan had skated first, as it is a common practice for judges to "save room" for skaters who have yet to perform. However, Lipinski performed a more technically difficult program than Kwan.
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 molars extracted, constant fatigue, and possible mononucleosis.
Following her decision to turn professional, Lipinski was heavily criticized both for the decision itself and for the inept public relations skills of her agent and family. For example, the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) was not officially informed of Lipinski's decision to withdraw from the World Championships before the announcement was made to the press. In addition to Lipinski's own conflicting statements, her agent, Mike Burg, told reporters he was worried about Lipinski "tarnishing" her Olympic medal by continuing to compete. Also, in a widely publicized incident, Lipinski's mother said to the press when she found that Michelle Kwan had been chosen to present a team jacket to President Bill Clinton, rather than Lipinski, at a White House reception for Olympic athletes, "Don't you think it's a terrible thing for them to do to poor Tara? It's been like this for poor Tara. It's a terrible thing." Tara herself didn't seem to mind, however.
Not long after she turned professional, Lipinski broke an existing $1.2 million contract to appear in made-for-TV events sponsored by the USFSA.
In August 1998, Lipinski suffered a hip injury in practice. After a string of other injuries, she underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage in her hip in September 2000. 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.
After turning professional, Lipinski toured with Stars on Ice for four seasons. It was not entirely a successful arrangement for a number of reasons. First of all, Stars on Ice was always an adult-oriented skating show, but Lipinski's own marketing played up her extreme youth and her appeal to pre-teenagers. Second, Lipinski's injuries not only caused the technical level of her skating to deteriorate, but also caused friction with the producers and other skaters involved with the show who never knew from one day to the next whether she would be fit to skate. Finally, because Lipinski was so young, she felt isolated from the off-ice camaraderie of the other skaters. In a note on her web site dated June 15, 2005, Lipinski said: "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."
Lipinski suffered another hip injury in 2002 during a Stars on Ice show in St. Louis, when she fell on her right hip during a jump. "I still thought everything would be fine. I had fallen before and would fall again." The next day, Lipinski tore muscles around her hip, causing the other muscles to take the load and fail.
She 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. Although she has not made any official announcement of her retirement from skating, she has not skated since, and has instead concentrated on acting.
With Shaquille O'Neal 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. Lipinski has also been on the runway for Limited Too!.
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. |
|
|
| Add Tara Lipinski Biography (SuperUSERS) + |
| Add Tara Lipinski Review/Comment
|
HQ Tara Lipinski Pictures (2) | Random Tara Lipinski Picture
|
| << Back to the Tara Lipinski Homepage |
|
