Presented by ZAMZOWS.
This Day In Sports…February 20, 1998:
At the age of 15, Tara Lipinski becomes the youngest Winter Olympics figure skating gold medalist in history when she wins the ladies singles competition at Nagano. Lipinski had finished second to Michelle Kwan in the short program but produced a flawless long program that was more than enough to overtake Kwan for the gold. It would be Lipinski’s only Olympics, as she would turn pro in April of that year. Her milestone would be eclipsed at the 2014 Sochi Olympics by Russia’s 15-year-old team gold medalist, Julia Lipnitskaya.
It was in late 1996 when Lipinski added a triple loop-triple loop jump combination to her routine. She was the first one ever to perform it in competition, and it would ultimately pave the way for her Olympic gold. Lipinski first won the 1997 U.S. championship at the age of 14, beating Kwan and establishing the rivalry between the two. She followed that by taking the 1997 World Championship. Not surprisingly, Lipinski was the youngest ever to win that, too. She was a month younger than Norwegian legend Sonja Henie when she won her first world title in 1927.
By the time she turned 15, Lipinski was two inches taller and a year wiser. And in Nagano, she and Kwan were neck-and-neck in the singles competition. In the free skate, Kwan was great but Lipinski was greater, with her seven triple jumps including the trademark triple-loop triple-loop combination. The previous record-holder for youngest Olympic figure skating gold medalist? It was Sonja Henie at the 1928 Winter Games.
Sara Hughes took figure skating gold for the U.S. in the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake, and with that, an American drought began in women’s singles. It was finally broken Thursday, as Alysa Liu claimed the gold medal to cap an improbable journey. Eight years ago Liu was the next great American hope in the sport, while four years ago she walked away from figure skating altogether. When Liu returned, she displayed an infectious loose confidence that carried her to the top of the podium in Milan. Lipinski was on the NBC mic, working her fourth Olympics as a commentator.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
