Olympic Figure Skating Champions: Where Are They Now?

Vancouver 2010 Ladies' Winter Olympics Figure Skating action is set to kick off on February 23rd when an all-new slate of women will skate their short programs. As the world readies to welcome a brand new set of Olympic Figure Skating Champions, it makes good sense to look back at a handful of memorable ladies' champs, and to see what they're up to now.

Olympic Figure Skating Champions #1 - Tara Lipinski. The diminutive Lipinski shocked the world when she delivered a knockout long program and edged fellow American Michelle Kwan for the gold medal at the 1998 Nagano games. In doing so at 15 years and 255 days, she holds the distinction of being the youngest-ever winner of an individual event at a Winter Olympics.

Since then, this former Olympic Figure Skating Champion has kept busy. Lipinski skated with the Stars on Ice Tour as a permanent member from 1999 through 2002, when a nagging hip injury sidelined the young skater. She's made numerous television appearances, including guest and recurring roles on programs such as Seventh Heaven, The Young and the Restless and Malcolm in the Middle. She has also promoted the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Childhood Leukemia Foundation, and has enjoyed endorsement deals for Campbell's Soups, McDonalds and other products and businesses.

To catch the latest official news, check out her official website: Tara Lipinski Online.

Olympic Figure Skating Champions #2 - Sarah Hughes. At age 16, the Great Neck, New York native took the Ladies' Individual gold medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City games. She skated a technically difficult long program which included two clean triple-triple combinations, and rose from fourth place for the win.

Hughes went on to skate as part of the Smuckers Stars on Ice Tour in 2004-2005, and then resumed her education at Yale. The daughter of a breast cancer survivor, she's an advocate for research. She graduated from Yale in May of 2009 with a Bachelors degree in American Studies.

Follow Sarah's tweets at SarahHughesNY.

Olympic Figure Skating Champions #3 - Kristi Yamaguchi. Despite skating a less-than-perfect long routine, Kristi still came away with the Ladies' individual gold at the 1992 Olympic Games in Albertville, France.

Although she's rarely cast in a prominent spotlight, Kristi has enjoyed numerous professional and personal accomplishments since Albertville. Most recently, she and professional partner Mark Ballas won the 6th season of the mega-hit reality TV show Dancing with the Stars. Her grace, elegance and technical near-perfection quickly made her a judges' darling and she never received a score of less than 8 out of 10.

Prior to her DWTS tenure, Kristi danced with Stars on Ice, guest-starred in several television shows, and won many awards, including the Thurman Munson Award, which honors recipients for their competitive and philothantropic work. She founded the Always Dream Foundation, which as the official website states, aims to "inspire and embrace the hopes and dreams of children". If that's not enough, she's also a member of the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame, the World Skating Hall of Fame and the US Olympic Committee Hall of Fame. She's married to a former hockey player, and the pair has two young daughters.

Catch up with Kristi by following her tweets here: yamaguchikristi.

The time has almost come to add another name to the prestigious list of Olympic Figure Skating Champions. For a full listing of competition dates, be sure to visit the official website of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic games.

Sources

Tara Lipinski Biography, TV.com

Sarah Hughes Biography, USFSA.org

Lorenzo Benet, Michelle Kwan and Sarah Hughes Graduate College, People Online

Kristi Yamaguchi: Official Site