Lipinski evolves into a total pro with no regrets

Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

Tara Lipinski wants to make one thing perfectly clear: She has no regrets about not competing in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Zero.

Nada.

"Not one ounce," she said.

At age 15, Lipinski was the youngest figure skater to win an Olympic gold medal when she upset favorite Michelle Kwan at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

Soon afterward, she shocked the skating world by giving up her Olympic eligibility to become a professional and signed a lucrative contract with the Stars on Ice tour.

"A lot of people criticize you for turning pro. They did me, because I was so young." Lipinski, now 19, explained while in Houston last month to celebrate the holidays with her parents in Sugar Land. "But it wasn't my fault I was that young. Most people turn pro after they've reached Olympics, worlds and nationals."

Plus, she was harboring a secret. The wear and tear of landing all those triple jumps had caused hip problems.

"It had already started then (in preparation for the Olympics), but I didn't want to bring it into the media," she said.

She underwent surgery last year to repair torn hip cartilage. The operation, which can take as little as 45 minutes, lasted 3 1/2 hours because Lipinski's cartilage was so damaged, and she was developing arthritis.

Although she can no longer perform a triple jump on the right side, "all the triples on my left side feel so much stronger and bigger," she said. "It just feels like my skating has grown a lot."

Her attitude has changed, too.

"Every time I'm out there, I'm grateful. It's more of a feeling of just being lucky," she said. "And maybe that shows in my skating."

Lipinski said she is having the time of her life competing in professional events (she is the youngest winner in the 21-year history of the World Professional Championships) and appearing with Target Stars on Ice. The four-month, 61-city tour stops Friday at Compaq Center.

Olympic champions Katarina Witt, Kristi Yamaguchi and Ilia Kulik and world champion Kurt Browning will join Lipinski on the ice.

"It's really unique because we have so many past and present world and Olympic champions," Lipinski said. "We don't just go out and do solos. We have group numbers, and all the costumes match. It's more like you're going to see Broadway/MTV on ice."

The skater also is eager to perform in front of a hometown crowd. While she can often be seen practicing at the Galleria rink when she is in town, Friday will mark her first time with Stars on Ice in Houston.

"I am so excited about doing the show here," Lipinski said."It's going to be different than skating in any other city because it's my friends, my people, my home."

A key factor in Lipinski's decision to turn pro was her family. For much of her youth, she and her mother, Pat, lived in an apartment on the East Coast, where she trained, while her oil-executive father, Jack, remained in Houston.

"I just couldn't do that for another four years. I would just feel so guilty," Lipinski said.

Pat Lipinski had mixed feelings about allowing her daughter to go on the road at a young age.

"It was hard, but for once I had to take care of my husband, my home and myself," Pat Lipinski said. "I was tired. I had to take a rest. I had been with her since 3, going to events. It was time for me.

"It was also good because at 15, Tara had to learn a lot of things -- how to be alone, how to be ready, how to be on time. I want her to be on time and to be with her fans."

Pat Lipinski monitors ice-skating Web sites for comments about her daughter and is pleased to read that Tara gets high marks for signing autographs and greeting fans.

"I always told Tara, `I don't care if everybody is getting on the bus, you go to the gate and take care of (your fans) because without them you don't have anything,' " Pat Lipinksi said. "I think she learned. I get good responses from the Internet."

But allowing her daughter to be independent was tempered by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Since then, Pat has been traveling with the cast on a private jet that the Stars of Ice tour leases.

The show will take a two-week hiatus during the Olympics. Lipinski will likely make some personal appearances in Salt Lake City, although she is unsure if she will be there for the women's figure-skating competition.

Off the ice, Lipinski has set her sights on an acting career. She appeared in an independent film, Metro Chase, in Paris last summer. She also did a stint on the soap opera The Young and the Restless, and has been featured in TV movies on Nickelodeon and the Fox Family Channel.

She plans to continue skating "as long as my body holds out." She now works with noted choreographer Lori Nichol and believes the artistic side of her skating is much better than it was four years ago.

"I'm just really happy with everything that's going on right now," Lipinski said.