Here's a link to the IOC write-up on Tara Lipinski, who won the gold medal in ladies' figure skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics. At the age of 15, Tara became the youngest-ever woman gold medalist.
http://www.olympic.org/uk/athletes/h...PAR_I_ID=98509
It's very sad to know that after such success, her skating career is over for good and all she has left are the gold medal and terrible physical scars that will last for the rest of her life.
How true. When Tara won at Nagano, I thought she would stay eligible and compete through 2002. What a wonderful four years of competitive skating to look forward to with Lipinski and Kwan! And what a wonderful showdown that could have been at Salt Lake City! And throw Sasha Cohen into the mix - wow.Originally Posted by RealtorGal
At the age of 23, Tara's athletic career is finished. She probably will never skate again, and that, really, was the basis for her millionaire status. How will she support herself now? She's been doing some acting - but the roles she's had are hardly "Olympian". Sadly, she may look back at her life and think, "I reached my peak at 15, and the rest of my life has been downhill."
Do you think if she had postponed or passed on that stint in SOI that she could have salvaged her skating? I really do think that would have made a difference. She was so young that a hiatus could have done this. But-she was too immature to defer the gratification of a contract like that. I really hope that we can have a breather from the extremely youthful Olympic winners this time.
I don't think Tara is sitting around feeling sorry for herself. She has the same options for the rest of her life that any other young person does, and a few others besides. She can go to school, she can get a job, she can live off her previous earnings and indulge herself in hobbies, artistic projects or charitable works; she can keep in touch with the skating world as a coach, judge, etc.; she will always be a little bit of a celebrity in skating circles; she might get some acting opportunities from time to time.
It's not like she has to go work in a coal mine.
Mathman
Thank you mathman!
Bingo Mathman. Many 23 year olds are just starting out on their lives, careers, etc. Tara has been fortunate enough to have a huge life and career already, and has a lot of life left to her. There is very little limit to what she can do now.
If Tara stayed to 2002, then Sarah probably wouldn't make the Olympic Team!
OK, Tara won't need to work in a coal mine, and she definitely has more options and money than the average 23-year-old. However, I think of her as a classic example of the dangers of over training. The girl damaged her body permanently
in pursuit of Olympic gold. Yes, she won the gold medal, and she will always be an Olympic and World champion, but at what price? Just my two cents, of course. I certainly hope she's happy and satisfied with her life and has many interesting plans for the future.
The thing about Tara is that she has said that she has no regrets. It'd be different if she really wanted to be a skater and be known as that ala Boitano, Yamaguchi, etc. but she always seemed to be interested in other things. She clearly doesn't miss skating that much, and now she has the rest of her life to do whatever she wants. She's young, rich, and has her looks...I doubt she's sitting at home thinking about how her life is over.
Vietgirl, Speaking of looks, I still can't get over that little picture of Michelle in your signature
Here's Tara at last year's Carousel of Hope Gala, a benefit for the Barbara Davis Center for childhood diabetes.
http://images.zap2it.com/20041026/ca...hopegala04.jpg
Here's Halle Berry at the same event.
http://images.zap2it.com/20041026/ca...hopegala04.jpg
When I think of Tara I think Poor little Rich Girl and for many reasons. Not so with Sarah.
I might not think of Tara as "poor little rich girl", but I certainly think of her parents who sacrificed so much so that she could train with the best coaches. I think of Tara and her mother living in Detroit so she could train with Richard Callahan and of her father living along in Houston. I think of her mother attending every single practice, sitting up there in the stands and not having much of a life of her own. I remember Mrs. Lipinski speak of her daughter as "the golden child" and saying, "My daughter wanted to skate. What else could I do?" This is not meant to criticize anyone, of course.
I think Tara's permanent damage to her body is just a spotlight on a problem that all athletes are in danger of having. She's the poster-child.
Meanwhile, think about Alexander Abt, who only won one competition in his senior career, had meriads of injuries, and did it all for the sake of international victory, which unlike Tara, he never got.
Or Angela Nikodinov, God knows what this woman has been through.
Naomi Nari Nam, though she's skating pairs now I never expected to see her skate again.
Plushenko, Lord knows the damage on his body.
Alexei Yagudin, course I didn't expect him to stay elegible after 2002 even without the injury. But seeing him skate now doesn't seem to be the same as it did years ago.
Takeshi Honda, Ilia Klimkin, Ilia Kulik...
The list can go on and on.
Last edited by anya_angie; 08-25-2005 at 02:02 PM.
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