<P> In late 1996, at the U.S. Postal Challenge, Lipinski became the first female skater to land a triple loop / triple loop jump combination, which became her signature element . In early 1997, Lipinski unexpectedly won the U.S. Championships and, at 14, became the youngest person to win the title ahead of Sonya Klopfer who won it in 1951 at the age of 15 . Lipinski also won the 1997 Champion Series Final, again becoming the youngest female ever to win the title . She went on to win the World Championships, again becoming the youngest person to win the title . </P> <P> The following season, Lipinski finished second to Michelle Kwan at Skate America and, while suffering from a bad head cold, to Laëtitia Hubert at Trophée Lalique . With Kwan sidelined due to a toe - related stress fracture injury, Lipinski defended her Champion Series Final title (now known as the Grand Prix Final). At the 1998 U.S. Nationals, Kwan and Lipinski met again, but after a fall on the triple flip in the short program, Lipinski ended the short program in 4th place with Kwan in 1st place . Although she landed seven triples in the long program, she finished second overall to Kwan . </P> <P> At the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Lipinski skated her short program to music from the animated movie Anastasia, placing second to Kwan . In the long program, Lipinski performed seven triples, including an historic triple loop / triple loop combination and, at the end, a triple toe / half loop / triple Salchow sequence, to overtake Kwan for the gold medal . She became the youngest ladies' Olympic figure skating champion and the youngest individual gold medalist, a record that had stood since Norwegian Sonia Henie won the same event at the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, also at age 15 . (In 2014, Yulia Lipnitskaya, six days younger than Lipinski at the time of her Olympic victory, became the youngest Olympic gold medalist in ladies figure skating by winning gold with the Russian team in the team event, not the individual event as Lipinski had .) Lipinski trained at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan . </P> <P> On March 9, 1998, Lipinski announced her decision to withdraw from the 1998 World Figure Skating Championships, citing a serious glandular infection that required her to have two molars extracted, constant fatigue, and possible mononucleosis . </P>

Where tara lipinski won her olympics gold medal at 15