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Tara Lipinski Talks Johnny Weir, 10 Pounds Of Jewelry, 22 Pairs Of Shoes At Sochi

By Patricia Didelot
Published on: 01:48 PST, Feb 21, 2014

On Wednesday, February 20 Tara Lipinski celebrated the 16th anniversary of her Olympic figure skating gold medal at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, becoming the youngest woman to do so at 15-years of age.

Now an NBC analyst for the Olympic figure skating competition, the network teamed Tara Lipinski with flamboyant Olympian Johnny Weir, who is known for his over-the-top outfits, which include make up and jewelry.

The pair worked the live events of the figure skating competition in Sochi quickly becoming audience favorites, sharing their decided opinions and injecting their knowledge of the sport.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight Tara Lipinski shared how her life has changed since the days she was introduced to the world as a 15-year-old gold medalist:

“When you win a gold medal your life changes in an instant. And it’s such a surreal feeling because your entire training career, you’re thinking about the Olympics, getting to the Olympics, or possibly winning a medal and standing on top of that podium (…) You go into shock. It’s a very strange feeling because between 10 and 11 pm your life changes.”

“I started skating at 3, and probably by the age of 5-6 is when it got serious for me. I was doing small competitions and then by the age of 12 is when things really changed and my whole life revolved around skating.”

Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir clearly became the most fashionable and popular of the commentators the network has used during the Sochi Winter Games.

The pair took their job very seriously and just as seriously was how they both looked during the live broadcasts of the figure skating competition.

In that pursuit, Tara Lipnski confessed they brought a combined 10 pounds of jewelry to wear in Sochi and 22 pairs of shoes. Both were seen wearing matching outfits highlighting the same color coordinated accessories.

For the grand finale, the gold medal award competition for the women’s portion, they wore matching gold headbands and tops.

Johnny Weir shared that they had overpacked for their trip to Sochi, but it was all for a good reason:

“(…) we’re in this position where we’re the new kids on the block and we have to prove ourselves. You can’t wear the same black suit every day so we have to mix it up.”

Tara Lipinski says that she “loves” working with Weir because he is someone she can trust and they both had each other’s backs in the booth at the Winter Games.

[Image courtesy of TaraandJohnny Instagram]

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