50 facts you didn’t know about Tara Lipinski, former figure skater

50 things about Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski.

1. Tara Kristen Lipinski is a former American figure skater.

2. Tara Lipinski won the ladies' singles Olympic gold medal in figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, on February 20, 1998 at the age of 15 years, 8 months, and 10 days, becoming the youngest Olympic gold medalist in ladies' figure skating in an individual event.

3. When she won the 1997 World Champion at the age of 14 years, 9 months and 10 days, she became the youngest person - by 32 days - ever to win a World Figure Skating Championship, and she is two-time Champions Series Final Champion (1997-1998) and 1997 U.S. Champion.

4. Tara Lipinski was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Patricia (née Brozyniak), a secretary, and Jack Lipinski, an oil executive and lawyer.

5. Tara Lipinski spent her earliest years in Washington Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey.

6. The family lived in the Sewell section of Mantua Township, New Jersey until 1991.

7. Lipinski learned ice figure skating technique from roller skating coaches in the Philadelphia area initially, but her first major competition was the 1990 Eastern Regional Championships for roller skating where she finished second.

8. At the 1991 United States Roller Skating Championships, she won the primary girls freestyle as a nine-year-old.

9. In 1991, her father's job required the family to move to Sugar Land, Texas. However, training facilities were not available there.

10. In 1993, Lipinski and her mother moved back to Delaware, where she had trained before.

11. Tara Lipinski later moved to Detroit, Michigan, to train with Richard Callaghan.

12. Tara 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.

13. Tara Lipinski became the youngest ladies figure skating gold medalist as well as the youngest athlete in any discipline to win gold.

14. Later that season she placed fourth at the 1995 World Junior Championships and second in the junior level, behind Sydne Vogel, at the 1995 U.S. Championships.

15. Lipinski was coached by Jeff DiGregorio at the University of Delaware.

16. By 1995, she was the subject of a great deal of media attention, coined "Tara-Mania" by the media.

17. After a fifth-place finish at the 1996 World Junior Championships, Lipinski changed coaches, joining Richard Callaghan in Detroit. Later that season, at the senior level, she placed third at the 1996 United States Figure Skating Championships and qualified to compete at the senior-level World Championships.

18. Tara Lipinski was second in her qualifying round to Midori Ito, but fell twice in the short program, barely making the cutoff for the long program. Lipinski rallied to land seven triple jumps, including a triple salchow/triple loop combination, finishing 11th in the long program and 15th overall.

19. Lipinski rallied to land seven triple jumps, including a triple salchow/triple loop combination, finishing 11th in the long program and 15th overall. Lipinski, who was 13 at the time, was grandfathered in and remained eligible for future events, along with other skaters who had already competed at the World Championships before the new age requirement was introduced.

20. In late 1996, at the U.S. Postal Challenge, Lipinski became the first female skater to land a triple loop/triple loop jump combination, which became her signature element.

21. In early 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.

22. Tara Lipinski also won the 1997 Champion Series Final, again becoming the youngest female ever to win the title. She went on to win the World Championships, again becoming the youngest person to win the title.

23. 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.

24. Tara Lipinski skated her short program to music from the animated movie "Anastasia", placing second to Kwan.

25. In the long program, Lipinski performed seven triples, including a historic triple loop/triple loop combination and, at the very end, a triple toe/half loop/triple Salchow sequence, to overtake Kwan for the gold medal.

26. Tara Lipinski became the youngest ever ladies' Olympic Figure Skating Champion and the youngest individual gold medalist in Winter Olympic history. (In 2014, Yulia Lipnitskaya, six days younger than Lipinski at the time of her Olympic victory, became the youngest Olympic gold medalist in ladies figure skating history by winning gold with the Russian team in the team event, not the individual event as Lipinski had.)

27. 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.

28. 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.

29. However, given the opportunities available to a newly crowned Olympic champion, Lipinski took on a full schedule of touring, publicity appearances, and acting engagements, albeit that they required constant travel.

30. Tara Lipinski 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."

31. In the spring and summer of 1998, Lipinski toured with Champions on Ice.

32. She then toured with Stars on Ice for four seasons. Lipinksi appealed to a younger audience, attracting new fans to what had traditionally been an adult-oriented show.

33. 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.

34. Choreographer 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' ".

35. Tara Lipinski generally received favorable reviews and was popular with fans, sometimes signing autographs for hours after each show.

36. 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.

37. Tara 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.

38. Instead, she skated only in the remaining all-pro competitions, which were primarily team events such as Ice Wars.

39. 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.

40. Lipinski's professional skating career was hampered by a series of hip injuries.

41. In August 1998, Lipinski suffered a hip injury in practice for Stars on Ice.

42. In September 2000, she underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in her hip. She said her hip problem had been misdiagnosed for several years.

43. 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.

44. With Shaquille O'Neal and Denzel Washington, Lipinski is a national spokesperson for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

45. She is also a spokesperson for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Childhood Leukemia Foundation.

46. Tara 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.

47. Tara Lipinski 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. Tara Lipinski has also supported St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and numerous cancer research efforts.

48. Tara Lipinski has also been on the runway for Limited Too!.

49. Tara Lipinski has two official books in print: Totally Tara - An Olympic Journey and Triumph On Ice.

50. Tara Lipinski is best known for her consistent athletic ability which included a number of difficult jumping passes. She completed a triple loop/triple loop and a triple toe/half loop/triple Salchow. These combinations are very rare to this day.

Source: Wikipedia.org