Life After Gold Will Be Hectic For Skate Queen But Will Competitive Juices Be Gone For Nothing-To-Prove Lipinski?

She slept with her gold medal, just like she always dreamed of. She appeared on David Letterman’s television show to trade quips and celebrate her triumph. She skated in an exhibition where the only thing that mattered was pleasing the crowd.

But now comes the tough part for 15-year-old Tara Lipinski.

What do you do for an encore?

History’s youngest Winter Olympic gold medalist faces a tricky future after defeating American teammate Michelle Kwan in Friday’s women’s figure skating final.

She’s not just an athlete anymore, she’s a commodity.

And she’s not just another tiny skater with big Olympic dreams - she is the Olympic champ, holding a medal that can be spun out into millions of dollars in endorsements.

But she’s still just a kid who has to get back to her schoolwork and wants desperately to get back to her hometown of Sugar Land, Texas, for a planned parade.

“I woke up and said, ‘OK, it wasn’t a dream,”’ Lipinski said Saturday. “These days are the best days of my life.”

She received a call of congratulations from Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. So, does this mean America isn’t going to go to war with Iraq since Albright has time to call a figure skater?

“No comment,” Lipinski said diplomatically.

Lipinski said another call came from the “mayor of Michigan,” - oops, make that the governor.

Lipinski is in her own world, savoring her greatest triumph. Yet she faces days of decisions as figure skating continues to expand and business opportunities beckon.

Skating doesn’t stop. There is always another tour, another competition, another made-for-television spectacle on the horizon.

To remain in Olympic-caliber events sanctioned by the International Skating Union, Lipinski will have to continue to refine her skills, adding jumping tricks while maintaining her artistry. She could also jump to the less technically challenging pro circuit, joining the likes of ex-Olympic champions Kristi Yamaguchi and Katarina Witt.

But if Lipinski stays in the big Olympic-style events, she’ll face a familiar foe. Kwan is in for the long haul, once again vowing she will continue on until the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.

But Lipinski hasn’t made any commitments about staying in the competitive end of the sport, as opposed to joining the pro circuit.

The World Championships will be held next month in Minneapolis, and Lipinski is not yet sure she’ll be there to defend her title.

“I don’t want to think about it,” Lipinski said.

“We haven’t even discussed it,” said Lipinski’s coach, Richard Callaghan. Later, he cautioned about drawing any conclusions from their hedging, saying, “I think it would be unfair to Tara to say a yes or no decision right now.”

But Lipinski’s agent, Mike Burg, said: “It’s nuts to have a World Championship after the Winter Olympics.”

About the only sure thing in Lipinski’s future is she is booked for a 62-date tour of world and Olympic champions, which begins in Baltimore on April 8.

“Oh yeah, she’ll be there,” Burg said.

Burg heads Edge Marketing, based in Charlotte, N.C. He has been Lipinski’s agent since she was 13, and admits that representing an adolescent creates special challenges.

“The responsibility you have in managing a 15-year-old is 10 times the responsibility of representing a football player,” he said.

Burg’s job is to cultivate Tara Inc., ensuring that she has a long corporate shelf life.

“I think she is one of the most marketable female athletes in the world,” he said.

Lipinski isn’t even old enough to drive, but she already has a corporate tie-in with Chevrolet. She doesn’t have a credit card, but her agent said she could make a good spokesperson for VISA or American Express.

Lipinski has deals with DKNY kids apparel line, Minute Maid and Campbell’s Soups. And she’s the face on the boxes of the figure skating Barbie doll.

Even before she stepped on the Olympic ice, she was earning a seven-figure income from prize money, advertisements and tours.

“Figure skating usually draws an audience of women 35 and older,” Burg said. “Tara brings down that skew. Whether it’s Generation X or teenagers, she opens up a brand new market.”

Kids like her. Some kids want to be her.

But Lipinski and her parents, Pat and Jack, have sacrificed much of their family life for this medal. The father continues to live in Texas, where he is an oil executive, while Tara is joined by her mother while training in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., a Detroit suburb.

“I’ll still go to train in Detroit and hopefully see my dad a little more,” Lipinski said, her eyes welling with tears. “It will be normal. It will be the same.”

Tara’s mother also said she will follow her daughter’s wishes.

“Whatever she wants,” Pat Lipinski said. “If she wants to go eight more years, that’s fine by me. Whatever she wants. She hasn’t talked about it because she takes each competition one at a time. We never think about anything past that one because it’s too overwhelming to do that. We don’t even think about flight plans.”

It was Tara who called a lot of the shots in Nagano. She insisted on staying in the Olympic village and attending the opening ceremonies. She showed up for daily talks with reporters. And even when the competition ended, she showed her new-found independence by going back to the village, instead of staying in a hotel with her parents.

But when it counted most, she was prepared. She gave the skate of her life. She won the medal of her dreams.

“When I came here, I felt relaxed, being at the village, enjoying the experience,” Tara said. “This was my chance to have fun. I’m happy. I couldn’t be happier.”