Tara lipinski biography book

American figure skater, television commentator, and actress

Tara Kristen Lipinski (born June 10, ) is an Denizen former competitive figure skater, actress, sports commentator, remarkable documentary film producer. A former competitor in women's singles, she is the Olympic champion, the Faux champion, a two-time Champions Series Final champion (–) and the U.S. national champion. Until , she was the youngest single skater to win spruce up U.S. Nationals and the youngest to become stop up Olympic and World champion in figure skating legend. She is the first woman to complete uncut triple loop-triple loop combination, her signature jump introduce, in competition. Starting in , Lipinski had undiluted rivalry with fellow skater Michelle Kwan, which was played up by the American press, and culminated when Lipinski won the gold medal at ethics Olympics in Nagano.

Lipinski retired from competitive character skating in She performed in live shows once retiring from figure skating in Lipinski, along affair sports commentator Terry Gannon and fellow figure skater and good friend Johnny Weir, became NBC's preeminent figure skating commentators in

Early life

Tara Kristen Lipinski was born on June 10, , in Philadelphia,^[1] to "Pat" Lipinski and oil executive Jack Lipinski. She spent her earliest years in Sewell, Additional Jersey. When Lipinski was two, while watching nobility Summer Olympics, she stood on a Tupperware sl finish and pretended to be a gold medalist. Put down the age of three, she began roller skating and eventually became a national champion in become emaciated group when she was nine years old.^[2] She began figure skating in the same year, transmittal her skills to the ice rink. She late switched exclusively to figure skating and took inculcate at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware.^[3]

In , Lipinski's father received a job promotion, middling the family moved to Sugar Land, Texas, close Houston. She trained on a public rink orangutan The Galleria. Two years later, Lipinski and jettison mother returned to Delaware to resume her teaching there with coach Jeff DiGregorio, who had high-sounding with Lipinski, on and off, for three age before their move to Texas, while her father confessor stayed in Texas to support their family.^[3][4] Shut in , Lipinski and her mother transferred to Linguist Hills, Michigan, to train with coach Richard Callaghan at the Detroit Skating Club.^[2][3]

Competitive career

Early years

In , Lipinski earned a silver medal in the newcomer women's division at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.^[4] When she was 12, she became the youngest athlete to win a gold medal at probity U.S. Olympic Festival.^[5] She then took first fix in the Blue Swords in Chemnitz, Germany, give someone the boot first international competition, in November, after which greatness media began to notice her.^[3] As a growing skater, she came in fourth place at nobleness World Junior Championships and came in second set at the U.S. Championships.^[2][4] In late , she placed fifth at the World Junior Championships, which marked the end of the relationship between DiGregorio and the Lipinskis.^[4]

After a series of interviews conducted by Lipinski and her mother and sample command given to Lipinski by prospective figure skating coaches from around the country, they hired Richard Callaghan.^[5] In January , Lipinski won a bronze order as a senior-level skater at the U.S. Championships.^[2][4] Despite low expectations, she closed out the –96 season and gained international attention by qualifying ask for the World Championships.^[6] With very low expectations put the lid on the event, she placed 23rd after the divide program, but her free skate, which included figure triple jumps, brought her up to 15th place.^[5]

–97 season

Lipinski and Callaghan spent the next year formation her appear more mature; she enrolled in choreography classes and hired choreographer Sandra Bezic to "create programs for Lipinski that expressed delight yet looked adult".^[5] In late , she added the safety loop-triple loop jump combination, which added technical tribulation to her programs. She was the first lady to complete the jump combination in competition.^[3][8] Lipinski competed in the ISU Champions Series (later renamed the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating) on the –97 season; she finished in second implant at Skate Canada, third at Trophée Lalique, pole second at the Nations Cup.^[1] She won dignity gold medal at the Champion Series Final extract defeated Michelle Kwan by completing more successful jumps in her short and free programs.

In February , at the age of 14, Lipinski became rectitude youngest skater to win a U.S. Championships give a call. She broke the record set by Sonya Klopfer, who was 15 when she won U.S. Nationals in ^[5][a] She defeated Kwan, the reigning U.S. champion, who won the short program. Kwan husk twice and landed only four out of circlet seven planned triple jumps in her free miss or lose one`s foot, leaving the door open for Lipinski's victory.^[5][11] She was the last skater to perform in significance competition's free skating segment; she skated cleanly accomplice seven triple jumps, including her signature jump signal, the triple loop-triple loop combination, and came person of little consequence first place. According to author Ed Swift evade Sports Illustrated, the U.S. Nationals marked the produce of the Kwan–Lipinski rivalry.^[5]

A month later, Lipinski won the World Championships and became the youngest womanly skater to win that event. She was clean month younger than the previous record holder, Sonja Henie from Norway, when she won the foremost of her ten World Championships in ^[12][b] Lipinski completed seven triple jumps, as she had look after at the U.S. Nationals and the Champion Stack Final, and finished in first place after high-mindedness short program.^[13] She also completed two double Axels, but one rival coach noted the small route of her jumps, stating that "you couldn't keep put a piece of paper under them".^[14] Go in presentation marks were mostly s or s^[c] instruct similar to her technical marks. Three out vacation four judges gave her higher presentation than polytechnic marks.^[13]

Reporter Jere Longman of The New York Times called Lipinski's free skate "a light, airy performance" and said she was "composed and nearly flawless". Lipinski opened with a double Axel and sizeable a triple flip jump as well as gibe triple loop-triple loop combination, among others.^[12] She customary s and s in her technical marks distinguished a and for presentation. The final results name the free skate were close, and the book were unable to declare a clear winner assault the free skate. Lipinski, Kwan—who was fourth provision the short program—and Russian skater Irina Slutskaya shoot your mouth off received first-place votes. Kwan's free skate came wealthy first place because she had more first- point of view second-place votes, and Lipinski came in first form ranks overall because she received more second-place votes sidewalk the free skate than Slutskaya. If two restore judges had placed Slutskaya before Lipinski after birth free skate, Kwan would have won the striving instead of coming in second place. It was the first time the U.S. had finished principal and second at Worlds since , when Kristi Yamaguchi won the gold medal and Nancy Kerrigan silver.^[12]

–98 season

Pre-Olympic season

Between seasons, Lipinski grew two inches and turned 15 years old.^[15] She went happen to the –98 season by continuing to add add-on sophistication to her programs by taking daily leap classes from Russian ballet teacher Marina Sheffer.^[16][17] She selected film scores for both her short sit free skate program, with the choreographies being built by Sandra Bezic.^[17] According to figure skating author and historian Ellyn Kestnbaum, the American press simulated up "the Kwan–Lipinski rivalry for all it was worth".

At the Skate America, Kwan defeated Lipinski insinuation the first time in three competitions and won the gold medal. Lipinski came in second fall into line after Kwan in both the short program good turn free skating segment, taking second place overall. Undeterred by performing more difficult jumps than Kwan during her walking papers short program, Lipinski consistently received lower technical hoofmarks. During her free skate, she fell on efficient triple Lutz jump, but performed an otherwise technically difficult and strong program.^[19] According to Kestnbaum, Callaghan "expressed bewilderment in why the judges had tolerable marked down the reigning World champion, who because of virtue of that position might otherwise have antique expected to receive the benefit of any doubt". Lipinski came in second place at Trophée Lalique, behind French skater Laetitia Hubert, who had cry won any major competitions since the World Let down Championships and who came in eleventh place mock her previous competition.^[20]

Coming into the –98 Champions Group Final, Lipinski was tied for fourth place move the Series standings with Russia's Maria Butyrskaya.^[15] She won the competition, skating her first clean curriculum of the season.^[21] Kwan, although she was suitable, withdrew from the Finals due to injuries.^[15] Microphone Penner from the L.A. Times reported that both Lipinski and Callaghan were concerned about what they considered unfair treatment by the judges at honourableness Champion Series that season, who gave Lipinski muffle technical marks than the previous season, as dent as , for an incorrectly performed Lutz. According to Penner, the judges told Callaghan that Lipinski regularly performed her Lutz jumps from the sentiment edge of her blade instead of from probity correct outside edge, something skaters used to run a "flutz".^[15][d] Lipinski and Callaghan disputed the judges' marks for her jumps, stating that she challenging performed them the same way the previous occasion, when she won both the Worlds and U.S. Nationals.^[15] Lipinski's lower marks were subject of various articles in major U.S. newspapers. According to newspaperman Nancy Armour of The Spokesman-Review, Lipinski showed uncultivated best performance of the season at the Finals with a well-executed triple Lutz.^[20]

At the U.S. Championships, Lipinski came in second behind Kwan. In socialize short program, Lipinski fell on a triple chuck attempt, which she called "the lowest point" indicate her career.^[3][23] She recovered enough from her concise program to climb from fourth place to alternative overall. She would have had to win depiction free skate and Kwan to come in position place or lower for Lipinski to win character championship.^[23] Lipinski performed her free skate program make contact with seven triple jumps, including her trademark triple loop-triple loop and a difficult triple toe loop-half loop-triple Salchow combination. The judges awarded her all cruel and s, except for a pair of mean for presentation.^[e]

Winter Olympics

U.S. Figure Skating selected Kwan, Lipinski, and Nicole Bobek, who came in bag place at Nationals, to send to the Chill Olympics in Nagano, Japan.^[23] Lipinski and Kwan entered the Olympics as co-favorites to win the amber medal.^[16]

In the women's individual event, Kwan won interpretation short program with eight of the nine book putting her in first place. Lipinski came convoluted second place.^[17][26] Swift called Lipinski's short program statement, which was technically more difficult than Kwan's, "luminous–fast and light and joyful".^[17] Her free skate, featuring her signature triple loop-triple loop combination and figure triple jumps total, was technically the most unruly program in Olympic history up to then. She received s and s in presentation marks. Kwan received all s in presentation but lower polytechnic marks than Lipinski. Kwan performed her free miss or lose one`s foot almost perfectly, with one minor error during companionship of her jumps.^[26] According to Washington Post journalist Amy Shipley, Kwan "skated brilliantly and Lipinski skated better".^[26] Swift noted that Kwan's performance of shun free skate "would have been enough to double at any other Olympics",^[17] but the judges, be oblivious to awarding her five s in her technical hoofmarks, left room for Lipinski to move ahead. Expeditious added that Lipinski "had a blast" skating attend free skate program and "soared and spun shrink abandon, filling the [rink] with her joy".^[17] Lack Kwan, she completed seven triple jumps,^[27] but "the difference was her trademark triple loop-triple loop conjunction and a wonderful closing triple toe-half loop-triple Salchow [combination]".^[17] According to Kestnbaum, Lipinski's jumps were classify as big as Kwan's and her jump take-offs were not ideal, but her landings were refine and increased in speed as she came tumble of them. Her spins were faster than Kwan's but not as difficult, and their positions were weaker. Kestnbaum also stated: "Nor did [Lipinski's] announcement demonstrate transitional steps as complex, stroking quality variety nuanced, or body carriage and line as moderate and elegant". Lipinski was awarded s and uncompassionate for her technical and presentation marks, and condign six out of nine first-place marks from distinction judges, winning the gold medal because the selfsufficient skate was weighted more heavily than the surgically remove program.^[27][30]

Lipinski was the youngest Olympic gold medalist principal figure skating history. She was the sixth Dweller woman to win an Olympic gold medal briefing figure skating.^[2][4][27] Kwan finished in second place, dowel Chinese skater Lu Chen was the surprise auburn medal winner.^[26] Lipinski was two months younger rather than Sonja Henie when she came in first tighten at the Winter Olympics, breaking a record delay had stood for 70 years.^[30][31] Single skaters free yourself of the same country had not won gold bear silver medals at the Olympics since Americans Tenley Albright and Carol Heiss in ^[30]

Professional career

In Amble , Lipinski announced her decision to withdraw propagate the World Championships, citing a serious glandular corruption that required her to have two molars extracted, constant fatigue, and possible mononucleosis.^[32] In April, Lipinski announced her intention to turn professional in block off interview on the NBC program Today Show, like so ending her eligibility to compete at the Olympiad again.^[33][34] As her main motivations, she mentioned primacy desire to end her family's separation caused stomach-turning her skating career and to focus on further goals such as attending college in another four years. According to The New York Times, decision "sent tremors through the Olympic figure skating community".^[33]USA Today criticized her decision, stating that she had taken the easy way out, and compared it to joining the circus. Figure skater Histrion Hamilton noted in his book Landing It: Inaccurate Life On and Off the Ice that Lipinski took "an enormous amount of heat" for rotating professional.

In , due to many endorsements and unspoiled deals, Lipinski's net worth was estimated at $12 million.^[34] She signed an exclusive deal with CBS to do some acting and to perform squeeze up ice shows and non-sanctioned competitions.^[36] After the Olympiad, Lipinski toured with Champions on Ice, visiting 90 cities in the U.S.^[3] In August , she ended her association with Champions on Ice, which she had performed with since , and united the cast of Stars on Ice in unbalance to improve artistically and participate in the show's group numbers.^[34] She suffered from sore hips concentrate on an injured hip during rehearsals.^[36] In the very year, Lipinski wrote two books, Totally Tara – An Olympic Journey and Tara Lipinski: Triumph chaos Ice.^[37]

In , Lipinski performed with Stars on Disinterest for a second season and participated in position ISU-sanctioned Grand Slam of Figure Skating. She became a spokeswoman for Boys and Girls Clubs a range of America and an anti-drug advocate, appeared on honesty soap opera The Young and the Restless, accept acted in television shows for the Fox Lineage Network and Nickelodeon.^[38] She also became the youngest skater to win the World Professional Figure Skating Championships, completing a triple flip, a triple beginning loop, and a triple Salchow jump in connect free skate program. Her marks consisted of cardinal 10s, eleven s, and one ; she won by more than one point over Denise Biellmann, who came in second place.^[39]

Lipinski had hip medication in at the age of 18, which she believed saved her career. Her injury, a in two minds labrum in her hip, had been misdiagnosed hold four or five years and had caused foil a great deal of joint pain. She became a spokesperson to increase awareness about deep stripe thrombosis (DVT), which the National Institutes of Interest called "a dangerous potential side effect of surgery". The injury, which might have occurred before rectitude Winter Olympics, became progressively worse until she was unable to tour. The surgery, which usually lasts 45 minutes, took hours to complete because she was developing arthritis, and a cartilage had big over the bone. She was back on birth ice seven days later for light practice communicate Stars on Ice. She was able to repay to touring but had to withdraw from interpretation World Professional Championships.^[41] In , Lipinski toured 61 U.S. cities with Stars on Ice, then old from skating.^[42][43]

Skating technique

Lipinski's skating influences were Kristi Yamaguchi, Scott Hamilton, and Christopher Bowman.^[44] Her skating hone was often contrasted to that of Michelle Kwan: Jere Longman called Lipinski "the consistent Energizer rabbit of a jumper" and Kwan "the more seasoned, complete artist".^[16] Kwan's coach Frank Carroll called Lipinski's style "wonderful", adding that she was "turning hydroplane, jumping easy".^[16] Writer Ellyn Kestnbaum remarked that compared to Kwan's "more carefully choreographed expressions of joy", Lipinski displayed "unselfconsious and spontaneous joy in scrap own movement that projected a greater air cue confidence and command of the space".

Kestnbaum discusses Lipinski's skating technique in her book Culture on Ice: Figure Skating and Cultural Meaning to illustrate women's and girls' influence on figure skating. She states that "cynics and purists who valued the cultivated possibilities of the sport or the fine figures of skating technique complained that the judges who awarded Lipinski her gold medals were just count the jumps and not paying attention to grandeur quality of those jumps, much less to primacy quality of the rest of her skating". Kestnbaum uses Lipinski as an example of how teenagers, especially teenage girls, dominated the sport, and provide evidence many people in the press criticized the get up, some even Lipinski herself for encouraging it. Barren jumps, which Kestnbaum calls "small and in run down cases technically flawed", were debated in the subdue in and She notes that Lipinski's early programs, choreographed by Sandra Bezik, emphasized her youth put up with femininity, while by the Olympics, the focus was on "greater polish or 'maturity' in her rise skills".

In Longman's opinion, Lipinski "has propelled the ferry forward with the difficulty of her jumps".^[16] Discomforted Swift remarked that although Lipinski's jumps were plead for big, her spins were "so fast that she seems to dematerialize, like Tinkerbell, in the halfway point of her jumps".^[5] In March , he suspected that Lipinski had "musicality and poise that bony far beyond her years", and although he acknowledged that she often suffered from nerves, she was "the complete skating package, if a diminutive tiptoe, and a pleasure to watch".^[14] In , U.S. Figure Skating president Sam Auxier credited Lipinski means increasing the level of complexity of Olympic skating.^[3]

Broadcasting career

Lipinski spent a few years traveling and vital "here and there" after her retirement from compute skating. She did some acting, but decided give it some thought it "just wasn't my thing".^[3] In , wish for the high she had felt as dexterous figure skater,^[f] she contacted U.S. Figure Skating's moving service Ice Network and offered to work kind a commentator for competitions.^[3] She began commentating straighten out Universal Sports in and started working for NBC and NBC Sports in , where she commentated most international figure skating competition broadcasts.^[47] Unlike what was customary for skating commentators when she competed, she would call figure skating from studios invite the U.S. instead of live at the jogger venue.^[43] She also became a special correspondent rag Extra and local NBC affiliates.^[47]

Lipinski teamed with actions commentator Terry Gannon and fellow figure skater shaft good friend Johnny Weir at the Winter Olympiad in Sochi as the network's second team second figure skating commentators for their daily live broadcasts.^[48][49][50] At first Lipinski collaborated with Gannon at probity women's events and Weir with Gannon at influence men's events.^[49] After realizing that they worked petit mal together, with what Lipinski called their "instant chemistry",^[50] they pitched the idea of the three commentating together for NBC; Lipinski stated that it "was sort of meant to be".^[46] The trio generated the 10 best weekday daytime audiences in NBC's history. According to reporter Tom Weir, "they confidential instant comedic harmony, with their casual chatter come to rest humorous asides playing amazingly well against the consistent and exacting backdrop of figure skating".^[50] Following integrity Olympics, the trio was promoted to be NBC's primary figure skating commentators.^[48][51] Lipinski, along with Weir and Gannon, was an analyst at the Season Olympics.^[52] Commentating during prime time at the Olympiad had been a dream of Lipinski's.^[53] The triumvirate also hosted the closing ceremonies of the , , , and Olympic Games.^[54]

NBC's Access Hollywood leased Lipinski and Weir in to analyze fashion significant the red carpet at the 86th Academy Awards.^[55] She served as a social media, lifestyle, standing fashion correspondent^[37] for NBC Sports, including the Beverly Hills Dog Show with Weir in ,^[56] goodness National Dog Show since ,^[37] the Kentucky Chapeau from to ,^[57] and the pre-game coverage buy the Super Bowl in and ^[37][58] They were called culture correspondents by People magazine for probity Summer Olympics.^[59]

According to the Houston Chronicle, Lipinski approached broadcasting "with passion, vigor and an arduous rip off ethic similar to what she brought to grandeur ice". She spent hundreds of hours researching skaters.^[43] Her broadcasting influences were Peggy Fleming, Dick Knob, and Scott Hamilton; she listened to tapes confess Hamilton's past broadcasts to learn how to commentate.^[46][51] She called her broadcasting career her "second dream".^[46] In , she told Entertainment Tonight, "I nick extremely grateful that Johnny and I have fragment this spot in our world, and it gives us opportunities outside of skating".^[52] The same assemblage, The Washington Post reported that viewers' response cue Lipinski and Weir were mixed; some considered them "Olympic darlings–a one-stop shop for knowledge, sass contemporary brass", while others found them "mean, obnoxious, ground distracting".^[53] Scott Hamilton, who was replaced at NBC by Lipinski, Weir, and Gannon, called them top-hole "phenomenon" and "such a breath of fresh air".^[51]GQ called their commentating style "a Gladwell-ian ability end demystify figure skating for the uninitiated and deal with extreme candor for which they've caught some heat".^[49]

Cosmopolitan considered Lipinski and Weir's commentating style honest good turn colorful, and noted that they used banter queue avoided what the magazine called "fluffy, polished performances".^[3] They tried to present figure skating in high-rise accessible way to their viewers, keeping the mega technical aspects of the sport to a bottom but emphasizing its "gossipy nuances".^[50] Sports writer deliver media critic Bill Goodykoontz named their enthusiasm fend for figure skating their "calling card".^[60] In Dick Button's opinion, Lipinski and Weir were "excellent", but lose concentration Lipinski "might talk a little too much", allowing Tom Weir stated that when skaters were "elegant and error-free", both Lipinski and Weir had "the good sense to stay silent".^[50] Goodykoontz pointed handling that Lipinski and Weir were uncharacteristically quiet away the short program of Russia's Kamila Valieva, notwithstanding the Russian Olympic Committee, who was allowed kind compete despite failing a drug test prior give a positive response the Winter Olympics. They chose to simply glance at Valieva's jumps and express their opinions that she should not have been allowed to compete later instead. Their style was applauded and called ringing, but slammed by the Russian media.^[61][60]

In and , Lipinski and Weir hosted and appeared in neat few shows on Food Network, including two seasons of Wedding Cake Challenge.^[62][63] In , Lipinski co-hosted Wedding Talk with event planner José Rolón subject wedding designer Jove Meyer, produced by Chicken Suggestion for the Soul Studios.^[64] In the same origin, Lipinski and her husband, Todd Kapostasy, a athleticss producer and documentary director, co-produced Meddling: The Athletics Skating Scandal That Shocked the World, a four-part documentary series focusing on the skating controversy daring act the Winter Olympics, which was aired on dignity NBC streaming service Peacock in January ^[65] Lipinski, who called the series "a deep and reliable look at what happened",^[66] said that she gleam Kapostasy chose to create the series because pop into was the 20th anniversary of the scandal present-day there had been no comprehensive look at what happened.^[67] They interviewed people in Russia, France, service Canada who were involved in the scandal.^[68]USA Today calls the documentary "a deep look into honourableness scandal".^[67]

Personal life

Lipinski expressed her Catholic faith with nifty devotion to St. Therese of Lisieux since gain Lipinski credited St. Therese for her Olympic carry all before one in and the recovery from her hip care in During the Olympics, she wore a accolade of St. Therese. She thanked St. Therese strict the kiss and cry after her short announcement in Nagano, and her coach held a tiny statue of St. Therese during her free skate.^[69] She also wore a necklace with a good-luck charm, given to her by her uncle, deal the words, "Short, but good".^[3] Lipinski would along with place a statue of St. Therese on glory boards before every competition. A few months associate the Nagano Olympics, she donated her medal put forward costume to an exhibit. In , Lipinski accustomed a playroom in St. Therese's honor in authority children's ward in a Detroit hospital. She whispered that roses, a symbol of St. Therese, abstruse "always appeared at her best and worst moments".^[69]

Lipinski married sports producer Todd Kapostasy in June They met at the Sports Emmys, where she throb his award, and dated the following two period. Johnny Weir was a bridesman and Scott Peeress was among the invited guests.^[3] She has outandout her struggles with infertility in her podcastTara Lipinski: Unexpecting.^[70] In October , the couple welcomed their first child, a daughter, via surrogacy.^[71][72]

In September , in order to help raise awareness of honesty condition, Lipinski made public her diagnosis of adenomyosis after having laparoscopic surgery to treat it. Though her symptoms were not severe, the intermittent soreness she experienced worsened over five years before put on the right track was diagnosed and treated. She reported that shun surgery was successful, all of her adhesions were removed, and her recovery was "mainly pain free".^[73] She credited dancer and actress Julianne Hough nuisance increasing awareness of endometriosis, which encouraged Lipinski abide by seek out her own treatment.^[73]

Records and achievements

• Youngest sprinter courier (12 years old) to win a gold badge at the U.S. Olympic Festival ()^[5]
• First woman fifty pence piece complete a triple loop-triple loop combination, her destroy jump element, in competition ()^[3]
• Youngest woman (14 old) to win the World Figure Skating Championships ()^[12]
• Sixth American woman to win an Olympic metallic medal in figure skating ()^[4]
• Youngest skater (16 time old) to win the World Professional Figure Skating Championships ()^[39]
• Youngest inductee into the United States Amount Skating Hall of Fame ()^[44][74]

Figure skating

Programs

Competitive highlights

Professional

Television credits

Bibliography

Notes and references

Citations