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From the Olympics Toward Tomorrow
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Lipinski goes from underdog to Olympic gold
 Tara Lipinski |
Lipinski, placed behind fellow American teenager Kwan after Wednesday's short program, liked that spot just fine.
''I was very confident. I felt after the short I was in a good spot. I always like to be the underdog and be very motivated and I was when I went out there tonight,'' said Lipinski, who is in fact the reigning world champion.
Thus, Lipinski became the youngest-ever women's Olympic champion at 15 years and eight months -- two months younger than Sonja Henie of Norway when she won the women's title at the 1928 Winter Games in St. Moritz.
The Philadelphia native used all 35 kilograms of her tiny frame right down to the tips of her fingers and toes to perform an expressive, emotional program featuring her original triple loop-triple loop combination jump.
She scored marks of 5.9 and 5.8 for both technical merit and presentation, receiving first place votes from six of the nine judges at the White Ring ice arena in Nagano, central Japan.
''I felt like it was one of the best programs I've ever done, technically and emotionally,'' said Lipinski, who overtook the slumping Kwan last winter in two major meets but was having trouble keeping her lead this season.
As Kwan went through a growth adjustment, Lipinski burst onto the scene with a sensational victory over the 1996 world champion at the U.S. national championships in 1997 and the world championship soon after.
Kwan, who regained form to beat Lipinski in last month's nationals, was again relegated to a silver medal finish, just as she was at the world championships last March, despite a routine that earned 5.9s from all nine judges for presentation.
''I could have been the Olympic favorite, but it matters how I skate. It might not be the color of medal I wanted, but I'll take it,'' said the 17-year-old Kwan, her eyes puffy from crying.
Former world champion Chen Lu of China, the bronze medalist at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics, who sat out most of last season due to an injury-induced slump, had some minor landing problems but pulled through for a second consecutive bronze.
European champion Maria Butyrskaya of Russia, who started from third in the short program, dropped to fourth place, followed by compatriot Irina Slutskaya, the world bronze medalist in 1996.
France's Surya Bonaly, following a fall and several awkward landings, capped her program with her trademark back flip -- a move that is not allowed in competition but one that she frequently performs in exhibition -- to tumble to 10th place.
Shizuka Arakawa of Japan omitted her planned opening triple lutz-triple toe loop combination jump and took a spill in the last jump of her 4-minute program but still stepped up a notch to finish in 13th place.
''I'm disappointed that I couldn't give everything I have. I made many mistakes in the jumps and ran out of steam toward the end,'' said Arakawa, who was able to land only three triple jumps.
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, who earlier in the day visited the ski resort of Hakuba to watch the Nordic combined team event, arrived at the ice arena in southern Nagano just in time for Arakawa's performance.
An exhibition by the top four finishers of the men's and women's singles, pairs and ice dancing contests will be held Saturday, the penultimate day of the 16-day winter Olympics.
Russian skaters claimed all three other disciplines, with Ilia Kulik taking the men's title, Oksana Kazakova and Artur Dmitriev winning in pairs and Pasha (formerly Oksana) Grishuk and Evgeny Platov clinching their second Olympic gold in ice dancing. (Kyodo News)
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Copyright 1999 The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun