born June 10, 1982 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) of Sugar Land, Texas is an accomplished figure skater and media celebrity. She was Olympic Champion in Figure Skating at the 1998 Winter Olympics. At those games, she became the youngest gold medalist (at age 15) in the history of the Olympic Winter Games, a record that still stands.Lipinski first came to national prominence when she won the 1994 U.S. Olympic Festival competition, which at the time was a junior-level competition. Later that season she placed 4th at the 1995 World Junior Championships and 2nd in the junior level at the 1995 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Already, by that time, Lipinski was the subject of a great deal of media attention.

In late 1995, after a disappointing 5th-place finish at the 1996 World Junior Championships, Lipinski changed coaches from Jeff DiGregorio at the University of Delaware, to Richard Callaghan in Detroit. Moving up to the senior level, she benefitted from the withdrawal of Nicole Bobek from the 1996 U.S. Championships to place 3rd at that event and qualify for the (senior) World Championships, where she placed 15th.

That year, the International Skating Union voted to raise

minimum age for participating at the senior World Championships to 15. Lipinski, who was 13 at the time, and other skaters who had already competed at the World Championships before the new age requirement was introduced were "grandfathered" into remaining eligible for future events.

In 1997, Lipinski somewhat unexpectedly won both the U.S. and World Championships. She is the youngest person ever to win either of those titles, at the age of 14. At the 1996 U.S. Postal Challenge, Lipinski became the first female skater to land a triple loop/triple loop jump combination, which became her signature element.

The following season, Lipinski got off to a shaky start. She lost to Kwan at the fall Skate America event, to Laetitia Hubert at Trophee Lalique, and to Kwan again at the 1998 U.S. Championships. At the 1998 Winter Olympics, both Lipinski and Kwan skated excellent programs, with Lipinski winning a narrow