On February 20, 1998, 15-year-old Tara Lipinski wins
the gold medal in women's figure skating at the Olympic Winter Games in
Nagano, Japan, and becomes the youngest gold medalist in her sport.
Lipinski donned her first pair of skates at age six. In 1994, at age
12, she won a gold medal at the U.S. Olympic Festival, a junior-level
competition. In 1997, Lipinski, then 14, took first place at both the
national and world figure skating championships, beating out her
American rival and perennial fan favorite, Michelle Kwan. Lipinski was
the youngest person ever to take home either title. At the 1998 Winter
Games in Nagano, Lipinski and teammate Michelle Kwan were both
considered favorites for the gold medal. Earlier that season, the
diminutive Lipinski, known for her energetic jumps, had been defeated
twice in competition by Kwan, who was considered the more artistic
skater of the two. Both Kwan and Lipinski turned in strong performances;
however, Lipinski's program was considered more technically difficult
and she was awarded the gold medal. Kwan took home the silver medal and
China's Chen Lu won the bronze. Lipinski, then 15, was the youngest
person in figure skating history to capture Olympic gold. (At the 1994
Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, 16-year-old Oksana Baiul from
Ukraine won the gold in women's figure skating.)
In April 1998, Lipinski announced she was turning professional. She
went on to perform in skating shows such as "Stars on Ice" and also
pursued an acting career. In 2006, she was inducted into the U.S. Figure
Skating Hall of Fame.http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/tara-lipinski-becomes-youngest-olympic-figure-skating-gold-medalist
Figure Skating: Mine and others experience
Friday, September 21, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DojBrSy571Q&safe=active
Sasha Cohen's spiral sequence from the 2006 nationals where she received the gold medal.
Sasha Cohen's spiral sequence from the 2006 nationals where she received the gold medal.
Sasha Cohen
Alexandra Pauline "Sasha" Cohen (born October 26, 1984) is a U.S. figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World Championship medalist, the 2003 Grand Prix Final Champion, and the 2006 U.S. Champion.
Sasha Cohen performs a split jump, a figure skating element that is learned in the ISI freestyle 6 level and can be added to any program ranging from freestyle to artistic.
Sasha Cohen executes her trademark spiral "arabesque" in the full split position. Cohen is the first skater to have received +3s for spirals in the new judging system for "Grade of Execution".
Friday, September 7, 2012
Michelle Kwan "The most decorated Figure Skater of all time"
Michelle Wingshan Kwan (born July 7, 1980) is an American Figure Skater. She is a two-time (1998 and 2002) Olympic medalist, a five-time (1996, 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2003) World champion (a record bettered only by Sonja Henie among ladies skaters) and a nine-time (1996, 1998–2005) U.S. champion (the all-time record, as tied with Maribel Vinson-Owen).
She competed at a high level for over a decade and is the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history. Known for her consistency and expressive artistry on ice, she is widely considered one of the greatest figure skaters of all time.
For well over a decade, Michelle Kwan maintained her status not only as America's most popular figure skater but as one of America's most popular female athletes, consistently making the top ten on many such polls and lists (often as the only figure skater) even years after she had stopped competing. During the decade of her reign Kwan enjoyed unprecedented popularity and amassed numerous multi-million dollar endorsement deals, starred in multiple TV specials and was the subject of extensive media coverage
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