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Lipinski, Kwan set for Hershey's Challenge
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) -- Olympic champion Tara Lipinski and silver medallist Michelle Kwan will headline the Hershey's Kisses Figure Skating Challenge next month.It will be the first time since the Nagano Games that Lipinski and Kwan will be in the same event. Lipinski, the defending champion, is sitting out next week's world championships with a viral infection. Kwan, the 1998 U.S. champion, is a heavy favorite to win her second world title.
The one-day event will be held at the Springfield Civic Centre on April 17. It features a team format, and the field includes four Olympic medallists and seven world medallists.
The event also includes special exhibition performances by Nagano Olympics champion Ilia Kulik of Russia and Canada's three-time world champion and two-time Olympic silver medallist Elvis Stojko.
Also on Lipinski's team will be five-time U.S. men's champion Todd Eldredge, two-time Olympic medallist Nancy Kerrigan, rising men's star Timothy Goebel, three-time U.S. pairs champions Jenni Meno and Todd Sand, and five-time American dance champs Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow.
Joining Kwan will be 1992 Olympic gold medallist Viktor Petrenko, 1996 U.S. men's champion Rudy Galindo, 1995 American women's champ Nicole Bobek, two-time U.S. pairs winners Kyoko Ina and Jason Dungjen, and Michael Weiss, the runner-up at the last two U.S. nationals.