Whatever happened to Tara Lipinski?
Honestly, way before I fell in love with Korean skating superstar Yuna Kim and the Japanese thriller (no pun intended) Mao Asada, there was a skating sprite that captured my heart and got my eyes glued on the TV set like a crazed maniac (okay, not the best of metaphors).
Tara Lipinski, who burst onto the scene in 1997 with her charming smile and impressive jumping ability, was the one who got me hooked on figure skating. To this day, I haven't forgotten the exact moment I first saw her on TV.
It was an advertisement for ESPN, where she along with other young phenoms were heralded by the sporting world as the next breed of superstars. I don't exactly remember who else were there, though. What I do remember was that I was intrigued by the little jumping machine from Detroit Skating Club. Although the advertisement didn't exactly inspired me to get out of the house and dash off to the nearest internet cafe (at the time, we didn't have internet service, yikes!), it did spark curiosity in me.
A couple of days later, I found myself in front of a computer (at an internet cafe, of course), searching for videos and every bit of info about Tara Lipinski. From then on, I stumbled upon Michelle Kwan, who would become the US's most decorated skater and a legend in the skating world.
It didn't take long before I became addicted with all things Figure Skating. I would record skating videos (regardless who were skating), clip newspaper articles, collect magazines that featured either Michelle or Tara. I guess what heightened my obsession with figure skating was Michelle and Tara's exciting rivalry on the ice, which the US media spun and glorified into biblical proportions.
Of course, the drama became more exciting when the 1998 Olympic season reached fever pitch. While Michelle Kwan was a personal favorite, I rooted for Tara to win the Olympic gold. And she did.
I remember holding my breath when she would set up for her signature triple loop-triple loop combination jump, the most difficult combination jump that a female skater did at the time. I also remember shouting at the top of my lungs when she nailed it, and completed the rest of her long program without a wrong step. I actually stopped myself from crying when her marks came up.
Yes, that was a decade ago. And now, I don't exactly know what she's up to, although I do stumble across skating videos that have her as a commentator once in a while. I read somewhere she suffered a serious hip injury, which she never recovered from, a couple of years after joining the pros. While the likes of Yuna Kim, Mao Asada, Sasha Cohen, Mirai Nagasu and Caroline Zhang continue to pique my interest in the sport, I just find it sad that someone great like Tara Lipinski had to hang her skating boots in the closet a little too early. I wonder how she would fare against today's formidable contenders.
Care to update me?
