Witt still loves the ice

There's a reason Katarina Witt's last name is pronounced vit, not wit.

The German-born skater is very intense, very focused and very serious.

As Witt, Tara Lipinski, Kristi Yamaguchi and the rest of "Stars on Ice" prepared to perform tonight at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, Witt talked about touring with Tara, wearing sparkly outfits and the "erotic" beauty of skating.

A two-time Olympic gold-medal winner, four-time World champion and six-time European champ, Witt, 36, will be a color commentator for German television when the Olympics start this weekend.

Q.You're in the middle of a 61-city tour. How hard is this?

A.It's definitely a very, very hard tour. It's a show where I am involved a lot, so it makes it a little bit harder. But it has been a great group of people. We have a lot of fun together.

Q.How does performing every other night compare to getting ready for the Olympics?

A.It is, of course, totally different. With the Olympics, you train, train, train for just a couple of competitions or for just this one big highlight. I'm just in a different stage of my life. With (Stars on Ice), it does count every night. At the same time, it's not as nerve-racking.

Q.With the Olympics starting, does your blood get pumping or is it like, "Been there, done that?"

A.It's always exciting when the Olympics are coming around. It's been so much a part of my life. I've been involved in every Olympics, either competing or commentating, since 1984. So I've been looking forward to it. It's going to be totally exciting, especially since figure skating is such a loved sport.

Q.Who will win the women's gold?

A.It's difficult to predict. Michelle (Kwan) is in awesome shape. She proved at the (U.S.) Nationals that she did everything that she could to go into the Olympics and be really well-prepared.

Q.Your fellow skater, Tonya Harding, was evicted from her apartment last week. Have you all offered to give her a job, maybe driving your bus?

A.I haven't been watching it, so I really couldn't say.

Q.What's the cast like? Have there been any catfights?

A.No, no. We have fun with each other. We have become friends. We're supporting each other. At the same time, everyone has their own careers outside of this. But it's wonderful to share with your friends the love of the sport.

Q.Tara Lipinski might be the smallest skater in the history of the sport. Have you all ever tried to stuff her into the overhead compartment of the bus?

A.(Slight laughter.) No, that would be kind of a stupid joke.

Q.Do you ever look at her and think, "Just wait till you get older and you can no longer bend your body into a pretzel?"

A.No, not really. I look at her more with a smile. It's more like, "There's such a great career ahead of you." Everybody kind of has to go and find their own path. She seems to know what she's doing, where she's going.

Q.What do you think of the "Tara Lipinski rule." Because of her win in Nagano, Japan, in 1998, no one under 16 can compete in figure skating at the Olympics.

A.It's quite fair to come up with the age line. I think that is a decent age to be part of the Olympics. I think it's meant, in some ways, to support young skaters, to help them grow up before they have to compete, so they can have some longevity in their careers.

Q.Speaking of rules, the International Skating Union, which governs amateurs, says it plans to start cracking down on the amount of sexual gestures in routines. They say skaters have become much too erotic in their routines. What do you think?

A.You've got two different things you're talking about. You've got the figure skating as a competition, and you've got it as very big entertainment. If you go into the Olympics, yes, skating is about jumps, and it's about athletic skills, and it's about the beauty of a routine. It should be sexy, as well. You've got beautiful costumes and music, and you should be able to rock. There is definitely something very sexy and erotic about figure skating.

Q.Do you ever look at the outfits they make you wear and say, "Oh, there's no way I'm putting that on?"

A.I'm pretty much in control of my own choreography. I pick the things I want to wear, so it's not a problem.

Q.Do you ever look back at some of your outfits and wonder, "What was I thinking?"

A.There are times you look back into your youth as a teen-ager and think, "Oh my God, I look dorky." But then you think, "At this time, it was perfect for the time." It's fashion. It changes.

Q.Why is figure skating so popular?

A.It's really something out there that appeals to the whole family. In your audience, you have everyone from little kids up to grandma and grandpa. The thing is, people know how difficult it is, yet it looks so effortless. It kind of takes people away from their life problems. They just share a fantasy with you.

Q.Here's a highly technical skating question: Does it hurt when you fall?

A.Yeah, of course, it always does. Especially as you get older.

Q.Do some falls hurt more than others?

A.If you fall on the jump, you can anticipate it, and you learn how to fall. But it's the unexpected ones - they really, really hurt.

Q.Are hockey players a bunch of wusses because they wear padding?

A.No. It's a different sport. You've got figure skating, and you've got hockey. You just wear different clothes, and you wear padding. That's just part of the sport.

Q.You've won Olympic gold medals and world championships. You've won an Emmy for an HBO movie ("Carmen on Ice"), and you've come out with your own line of jewelry. What's next?