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Lipinski has infection, will skip world championships
WARREN, Mich. (AP) -- Tara Lipinski, tired and suffering from an infection, said Monday she will not compete at the World Figure Skating Championships later this month."We realized we wanted to be 100 per cent and not hurting," Lipinski said Monday night at a reception honoring her and the other five Olympic skaters who train at the Detroit Skating Club. "I think I've fulfilled everything I really, really needed to.
"It's nice to leave it like this, with that kind of performance."
Lipinski's performance in Nagano made her the youngest individual gold medallist in her sport and an instant celebrity.
She originally refused to commit to the worlds, even though she is the defending champion. Her agent, Michael Burg, raised the possibility Lipinski would skip the championships, saying that it was a "legitimate question" as to whether the Olympic champion should risk the glitter of her Nagano title so quickly.
But Lipinski last month said she would compete at the championships, which begin March 31 in Minneapolis. She changed her mind Monday following a visit to the doctor.
"I don't want to go if I'm not going to be able to do my triple-triple consistently," she said, referring to her trademark triple loop-triple loop combination.
Lipinski, 15, said she woke up Saturday with swollen glands. On Monday morning, her doctor discovered an infection and she was taken to a dentist and had two molars extracted.
The doctor put her on antibiotics and might test her for mononucleosis in a few days if she is not getting better.
"Tara's a feisty kid. She would always want to go out and skate her best," coach Richard Callaghan said.
Lipinski said she's happy the pressure of the Olympics is over, and she's looking forward to spending more time with her father in Sugar Land, Texas.
She and her mother spend most of their time in the Detroit area so she can train with Callaghan.
"It's been a long haul, and being away from my dad was tough," said Lipinski.