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Lipinski will compete at World Championships
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Tara Lipinski, still glowing in her Olympic victory, will compete at the World Figure Skating Championships, beginning March 31 at Target Center."I want to go to worlds," Lipinski said Sunday in Nagano, Japan.
The 15-year-old Lipinski earlier had refused to commit to the worlds, even though she is the defending champion. She later said she initially was noncommittal because she wanted the gold medal feeling to sink in and because she wanted to consult with her parents.
"I'll take a few days off to regroup, then I'll start training," Lipinski said Sunday.
Her agent, Michael Burg, had raised the possibility that Lipinski would skip the World Championships, saying that it was a "legitimate question" as to whether the Olympic champion should risk the glitter of her Nagano title so quickly.
Losing so soon after her victory over Michelle Kwan at the Olympics could taint Lipinski's newly won title.
"It's nuts to have a World Championships after an Olympic Games," Burg had said.
"If she did worlds and lost, does that hurt? I don't know. If she doesn't do worlds, does that mean she's turnng pro? No."