The aftershocks of Tara Lipinski’s victory in the women’s Olympic figure skating final shook the figure skating world with an impact that seemed to have symbolic expression in the Saturday morning earthquake that rumbled in Nagano.
Lipinski was unaware of the quake as she slept with her gold medal in the Olympic Village. Seeing the medal in the morning would be proof that what had happened at White Ring arena Friday night was not a dream.
“I wanted to make sure it was there when I woke up,” she said.
Asked whether she or the medal had been knocked out of bed by the quake, Lipinski replied, “What earthquake?”
The same could have been said of the comments Lipinski made Saturday morning about not committing to skate in next month’s world championships in Minneapolis. That had made it seem as though the dream of a lengthy rivalry between Lipinski, 15, and silver medalist Michelle Kwan, 17, had disappeared overnight.
Sunday afternoon, Lipinski said she would compete at the world meet. A day earlier, she had been overwhelmed by what had, was, is, and would be happening to her as Olympic champion.
“I needed time to talk it over with my mom and dad,” she said.
When she and Kwan each spoke with the press before skating in a medalists’ exhibition Saturday afternoon, their competition appeared on the verge of ending after only two seasons. There still is no assurance it will continue into 1999 or beyond.
“If we do both decide to skate until 2002 (Olympics), I think it’s going to be a big battle in each competition,” Kwan said.
Kwan, a high school senior, hedged on what had sounded Friday night like unequivocal determination to continue through the 2002 Olympics. She hinted at giving up skating if she decided to attend college, saying she wanted to concentrate on only one commitment.
“I’m going to take one thing at a time,” Kwan said. “I was never a person who quits.
“There is no guarantee I will move one step forward in 2002. I know that, but hopefully I’m willing to take a chance.”
That a 16-year-old champion, Oksana Baiul of Ukraine, has been succeeded by a 15-year-old, would seem to discourage even skaters in their late teens. Two-time bronze medalist Lu Chen, 21, of China said she would not be skating in the world meet.
The International Skating Union, in a fight over control of the sport with promoters of generally ersatz professional competitions, cringes at the possibility of such defections.
“It would be sad for the sport and sad for them to walk away prematurely,” said Sally Stapleford of Britain, the ISU technical chairwoman. “They have a lot of potential still in them, and they are still young. Life itself is short, and the period of competing is so short, it would be sad for them to look back in 10 years time and regret anything.”
Said Mike Burg of Edge Marketing, which represents Lipinski: “This is a lifestyle decision.”
Four years ago, it took only three clean triple jumps for Baiul to win the Olympic title. Friday night, Lipinski and Kwan hit seven each. It may not be long before the quadruple jump becomes a part of women’s skating.
“Every four years, there is a new push technically,” Burg said. “That is tough on your body and mind, thinking about what jumps you need. Do you want that lifestyle or do you want a performer-entertainer lifestyle?”
The last two Olympic women’s champions, Baiul and Kristi Yamaguchi of the U.S., chose the entertainer lifestyle even though Baiul was only 16 and Yamaguchi only 20. Because of the switch in Olympic cycles, 1992 champion Yamaguchi would have had to wait just two years for another Olympics.
Baiul at 16 had lost her mother to cancer and her father to abandonment. She clearly was unprepared for the fame and wealth that followed her Olympic triumph and her move to the U.S. Baiul lost much of her credibility by indifference to training and admitted alcohol abuse, which led to her arrest last year after crashing her Mercedes while driving 100 m.p.h. while under the influence.
Yamaguchi has gone on to a successful and highly esteemed career as a professional competitor and entertainer.
“There is no basis of comparison with Baiul,” said Burg, who created the deal in which Baiul received $2 million for 10 post-Olympic professional events. “Maybe you can compare Tara to Kristi.”
That comparison seems more apt because Lipinski has a dedication to her craft similar to Yamaguchi’s. When Burg told her Saturday she soon would be going to New York for a variety of talk shows, Lipinski asked him to arrange ice time for her.
“If she were queen of England, she would skate four hours a day,” Burg said. “Wherever the queen lived, there would be an ice rink.”
Where the ice queen will be living for the next few weeks is still uncertain. She may skate an exhibition Tuesday in Tokyo. She may go to New York. She may go back to Bloomfield Hills, Mich., where she trains and shares an apartment with her mother, Pat. She may go back to the home in Sugar Land, Texas, where her father keeps the family’s home and her five dogs. The Houston suburb is planning a parade.
“When I told her, `Tara, you’re going to do a parade,’ she said, `Don’t worry, it won’t be a corny parade,’ ” Burg said.
That was a reference to the remarks 1994 Olympic medalist Nancy Kerrigan made after skipping the Closing Ceremony and going to a parade for a sponsor, Disney World. Her relationship with Disney and the public soured when Kerrigan called it “the corniest thing I have ever done.”
Not wanting to repeat such mistakes is why Lipinski has not rushed into her post-Olympic celebrity tour. She was bantering with the media in the White Ring press room again Saturday and plans to attend Sunday’s Closing Ceremony.
“This is a time to enjoy and have fun and relax,” Lipinski said.
The Olympic credit card sponsor, Visa, asked her to make an appearance on its behalf and even offered a Snowlet to sweeten the lure. Snowlets, the Olympic mascots, have been impossible-to-find souvenirs for nearly a week. Lipinski had yet to decide whether to make the appearance.
“I could be alone and be happy just to be with my medal and to know I skated well,” she said.
