1997 Worlds Women's FS | Tara Lipinski becomes youngest ever World champ; leaps past Michelle Kwan

Australian/British coverage (commentators: Chris Howarth, Simon Reed) ladies/women's free skate (FS), performances from the 1997 World Figure Skating Championships (CIG de Malley, Lausanne, Switzerland), marked with (^) below: Rank Name Nation TFP QA QB SP FS^ 1 Tara Lipinski United States 2.5 1 1 2^ 2 Michelle Kwan United States 3.0 1 4 1^ 3 Vanessa Gusmeroli France 5.0 2 2 4^ 4 Irina Slutskaya Ирина Слуцкая Russia 6.0 3 6 3^ 11 Joanne Carter Australia 16.5 10 10 12^ (bonus at end) I've previously posted clips in various iterations but the audio is fixed here and with higher quality source footage where possible. -------------------------------------------------- [words by E.M. Swift, Sports Illustrated - March 31, 1997] "In the car on the way back from the arena after the short program, Michelle was very angry, in tears, saying terrible things about how stupid she was to miss that jump," Kwan's coach, Frank Carroll, would say when the competition was over on Saturday night. "Suddenly she stopped short. 'Why am I doing this to myself?' she said. 'Scott Hamilton's fighting for his life.' She realized that winning this world championship wasn't life or death. She used to see Carlo at the rink every day. I reminded her of that conversation before she went out for her long program." Kwan, at that point, had little to lose. Lipinski, skating before her, had already earned another standing ovation by landing all seven of her triple jumps, plus two double Axels that had so little elevation that "you couldn't have put a piece of paper under them," in the words of one rival coach. Because of Lipinski's size and youth, it is now fashionable to speak of her accomplishments snippily, as if being 14 gives her an unfair advantage that the other skaters never enjoyed. The fact is, Lipinski has musicality and poise that are far beyond her years, and crumbling under pressure is not reserved for those who have reached puberty. Richard Callaghan, Lipinski's coach, virtually had to push her onto the ice the first time she appeared at practice after winning the U.S. nationals. She has nerves just like everyone else, but she has controlled them while spinning in the storm of her precocity. Callaghan acknowledges that he'll have to change Lipinski's double Axel technique--she doesn't follow through with her right leg, as she should to give the jump lift--but she is otherwise the complete skating package, if a diminutive one, and a pleasure to watch. At her best, though, Kwan is still the top female skater in the world, as she proved in her long program. "Today I got my act back together," she said after landing six of the seven triple jumps she had planned--she doubled her final Lutz--and showing a presence on the ice more compelling than that of any of her competitors. "I told myself, We have to put this in perspective. Let's just go out and have fun." In a split decision Kwan won the long program, but Lipinski took home the world title—perhaps a mixed blessing for Lipinski, given the difficulty of winning back-to-back crowns and the pressures she will now face as next year's Games approach. Asked about the future of their rivalry, Kwan laughed and said, "I don't know how long she plans to keep skating, but for the next 25 years, I'll be there. Always." -- [Washington Post extract] LIPINSKI SPINS NEW CHAPTER IN FIGURE SKATING HISTORY March 23, 1997 By C. Brennan LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND, MARCH 22 -- Tara Lipinski, America's little spinning top, has done it again. After beating Michelle Kwan in the national championships last month and in an international series final three weeks ago, Lipinski hung on, just barely, to leap past Kwan again and become the youngest women's world champion in figure skating history. -------------------------------------------------- #figureskating #フィギュアスケート #eiskunstlauf #фигурноекатание #pattinaggioartistico #patinageartistique