The ice stars cometh
Tara Lipinski leads an all-star cast of ice skating greats in Target Stars on Ice
| Source: |
Spokesman-Review |
| Date: |
January 4, 2002 |
| Author: |
Heather Lalley |
For the first time in 15 years, skating star Scott Hamilton is not
one of the Stars on Ice.
Hamilton, the show's founder, retired from the tour last year.
But there will be no shortage of big-name skating superstars when
the Target Stars on Ice tour stops in Spokane on Sunday.
One of the biggest names is 19-year-old Tara Lipinski, who is the
youngest Olympic, World, National and World Professional Figure
Skating champion in history.
She took home the skating gold medal at the Nagano, Japan, Winter
Olympics in 1998, becoming the youngest person to win an individual
gold medal in any Winter Olympic sport.
She turned pro shortly after the '98 games.
"It's so cool to be on a tour with all these gold medalists and
Olympic champions," Lipinski said in a recent phone interview from her
home in Texas.
For this season's Stars on Ice tour, which stops in 61 cities,
Lipinski is joined by fellow Olympic champions Kristi Yamaguchi,
Katarina Witt and Ilia Kulik, and four-time World champion Kurt
Browning.
Returning to the tour are three-time U.S. National Pairs Champions
Jenni Meno and Todd Sand, former Olympic pairs silver medalist Denis
Petrov (skating alone on the tour for the second year), and eight-time
British National Champion Steven Cousins. Making their debuts on the
tour this year are two-time Swiss National Champion Lucinda Ruh and
two-time World Champions Anjelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsiannikov.
"After 60 cities, it gets long, but I really enjoy doing it, so
it's not that big of a deal," Lipinski says. "It gets tiring, but at
the same time, to be in front of a crowd every night, it's very, very
fun."
Years of training, competing and performing have taken their toll
on Lipinski.
She underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage in her right
hip. The hip still causes her trouble and she has stopped doing triple
jumps from the right side. But she still does them on the left.
In addition to skating, Lipinski is pursuing an acting career. She
has appeared on "Touched by an Angel" and "The Young and the Restless"
as well as several televised skating specials.
"That's my next thing," she says of acting. "I love it so much."
But she's quick to add that she plans to continue skating as long
as she can.
The Stars on Ice show will feature both individual and group
performances, set to a wide variety of musical styles.
"You've just got to come see it," Lipinski says. "And once you see
it, you'll realize how cool it is. ... Even guys will love it."
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