Here is an interview with Tara Lipinski on The Celebrity Cafe (via Lifeskate). She talks about her rededication to skating as the central focus of her life.
TheCelebrityCafe: You made some comments a couple months back that you were looking to get back into figure skating. How serious were you about this?
Tara Lipinski: Well, very serious. I skated my whole life. I was on the ice at 3. When I was 21, I decided I wanted to take a little break. I didn’t really know how long, I just knew that I wanted to have a normal life. [I wanted to] have a home base. It was great, I had as much as a normal life as I could [have]. Of course, I was itching to get back into the sport. I feel like a year and a half ago, I decided that I wanted to. I wanted to be involved in many ways. I got back on the ice a little bit this past year. Mainly, I just started commentating, which really threw me back into the sport full force. It’s been a lot of fun.
I don't have much of an urge to watch Lipinski skating exhibitions (not really a big fan of those in general, anyway) but I am glad she's been commentating. I really enjoyed her at the worlds. My favorite part is how frustrated she gets when the skaters aren't skating up to their potential - to be honest, not many people can get away with that, but Lipinski had nerves of steel pretty much throughout her career so she does.
There does seem to be a bit of revisionist history going on with Lipinski's answers. She says she just needed a break - not that she was injured or anything like that. But, as a former avid reader of Lipinski's website, I am pretty sure a major impetus for the skating break was so that she could focus on becoming a major actress. In this interview, she almost makes it seem like the acting jobs were just a whim that fell into her lap: "Well, I lived in Los Angeles. So when acting roles would come up, I would have a blast doing them. It was a little out of my element. It was fun and a challenge. But I always knew skating was [my calling card]." Hmm...I don't really remember it like that, but whatever. I guess the material point is that she isn't pursuing acting anymore.
Lipinski seems to have a great attitude about the sport and her place in it. I'm excited she's been around the sport again for the past few years.