Full Name: Tara Kristen Lipinski
Date of Birth: 10 th June, 1982
Country: The United States of America
Sport involved in: Figure Skating
Achievements made:
Winner of silver medal in the 1994 Novice U.S. championships
Silver medalist in the 1995 Junior U.S. Championships
Winner of bronze medal in the 1996 U.S. Championships
Gold medalist in the 1997 U.S. Championships and 1997 World Championships
Silver medal winner in the Skate Canada International and the Nations Cup in 1997
Bronze medalist in the 1997 Trophee Lalique
Winner of gold medal in the 1997 and 1998 Grand Prix Final
Silver medal winner in the 1998 U.S. Championships
Gold medalist in the women's singles figure skating event at the 1998 Nagano Winter Summer Games
Winner of silver medals in the Skate America and the Trophee Lalique in 1998
Named the “Female Athlete of the Year†by the U.S. Olympic Committee in 1997
Voted the “Best Female Athlete†at the Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards in 1999 and 2000
Winner of the “Best Female Athlete†award at the Fox teen Choice Awards in 1999
Inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2006
Career: Tara Lipinski is the youngest winner of an individual event in the history of the Winter Summer Games. Lipinski began roller skating at the age of three. She started to practice figure skating when she was only six. Lipinski first competed in the 1990 Regional Championships. In the competition she won silver medal. Lipinski's first national appearance was in the 1994 U.S. Olympic Festival competition, a junior-level competition. She won the competition. In the 1995 United States Figure Skating Championships, Lipinski finished second in the junior level. She finished at the third position in the 1996 U.S. Championships. In the 1996 U.S. Postal Challenge, Lipinski became the first among the female skaters to use a triple toe-triple loop jump combination. Later this combination became the signature element in her performances. In 1997, Lipinski won both the U.S. Championships and the World Championships. Thus she became the youngest person in the history of figure skating to win the titles. In 1998, Lipinski won silver medals in the Skate America, Trophee Lalique and the U.S. Championships. In the 1998 Nagano Winter Summer Games , Lipinski won gold medal in the women's singles figure skating competition. In the same year, Lipinski decided to turn professional. Being a professional figure skater Lipinski toured with Stars on Ice for four seasons. She withdrew her name from the tour in the fifth season in 2002. Since then she has not skated. However, Lipinski has not yet announced her retirement.
erformance at the Olympics: Tara Lipinski participated in the 1998 Nagano Winter Summer Games at the age of 15. She was given a tough competition by her team mate Michelle Kwan during the Games. After the performances at the short program Kwan had a lead in the competition. In the long program, Lipinski gave a marvelous performance and was voted for first place by six of the nine judges. Finally Lipinski won the Olympic title in the women's single figure skating event. Lipinski became the youngest Olympic medal winner at the age of 15 years and 255 days.
