SLAM! Sports
SLAM! Skating
SLAM! Stojko
COLUMNS
REVIEW
INTERACTIVE
ALSO ON SLAM!
Lipinski's pro debut set for April 24
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Olympic figure skating champion Tara Lipinski will make her professional debut April 24 at the "1998 Skate TV Championships."Lipinski, who said last week she was leaving the Olympic-eligible ranks, will lose her eligibility once she appears in the event, which is not sanctioned by the International Skating Union.
Lipinski will skate against 1994 Olympic champion Oksana Baiul, 1984-88 gold medalist Katarina Witt, and three-time world championship silver medalist Surya Bonaly, who also will be making her pro debut.
Skate TV will not be Lipinski's next competition, however. She is entered in the Hershey's Kisses pro-am on Friday night, a team event run by the U.S. Figure Skating Association. Also appearing in the pro-am will be Michelle Kwan, whom Lipinski edged for the gold medal at Nagano.
Lipinski also is considering entering the Ultimate Four competition in Binghamton, N.Y., on April 23, where she would go head-to-head with Kwan.
In addition to Lipinski and Bonaly, Skate TV has two other athletes making their first professional appearances: two-time Olympic bronze medalist Philippe Candeloro and 1996 European champion Viacheslav Zagorodniuk.
Completing the men's field is four-time world champion Kurt Browning and two-time U.S. bronze medalist Scott Williams.
The Hershey's event on Monday added Americans Tonia Kwiatkowski, who will make her final Olympic-eligible appearance, and Scott Davis, the 1993-94 national champion.