NBC Sports' Tara Lipinski previews figure skating championships in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The 2024 U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Nationwide Arena are just around the corner and NBC4 spoke with the perfect person to preview the upcoming competition.

NBC4's Whitney Harding spoke with NBC figure skating commentator and 1998 Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski before the championship events commence in Columbus on Thursday. The Philadelphia native is a legend in the sport as the youngest female figure skating gold medalist when she won in Nagano at the age of 15.

After a tremendous career, Lipinski moved to the broadcast booth as one of NBC Sports lead figure skaters commentators. She has been in the broadcast booth the last three Winter Olympics and has been part of NBC Sports' coverage for Summer Olympics, Kentucky Derbies, and Super Bowls.

Figure skating is a sport that gave Lipinski a chance to see the country and the world, but Columbus has rarely been on figure skaters' travel itineraries. "It's exciting to go somewhere that we haven't been," said Lipinski. "I feel like I have traveled the world for my figure skating career but I can't really remember the last time that we have had a figure skating competition in Ohio."

While Columbus has never hosted the U.S. championships, Cleveland has on three occasions but not since 2009. The championships adds another major event to a growing sports community in central Ohio that has recently hosted March Madness games and will host the MLS All-Star Game this summer.

Despite figure skating being a sport most commonly watched during the Olympics, Lipinski can't wait to see the Columbus community gather this week to see America's current and future stars in the sport.

"I think they will be blown away with what these skaters are actually doing on the ice. What they are able to produce technically, artistically, how the sport has advanced," said Lipinski. "I hope I look into the audience and there are a couple kids out there that remind me of me back in the day and be like oh my goodness, maybe one day I can be a figure skater and go to the Olympics."

The two main skaters Lipinski and others will have their eyes fixed on are the defending American singles champions -- Ilia Malinin and Isabeau Levito.

Malinin, 19, won the national championship last year and enters Columbus as the favorite. The Fairfax native has the potential to join the exclusive list of double American men's champions as the only skater to complete the sport's hardest jump, a quad axel. "Ilia has been making quite the splash in figure skating. He is the first human to have ever landed a quad axel which is just mind-blowing," said Lipinski.

The defending champion for the women is 16-year-old Isabeau Levito, who like Lipinski was also born in Philadelphia. She narrowly won the 2023 title over Bradie Tennell as a heavy favorite and hopes to become the first female skater since Alysa Liu to win back-to-back national titles.

"She has it all. She is a brilliant technician. She is a gorgeous artist. I always compare her to a ballerina with ice skates on," said Lipinski. "And she is also very consistent and delivers when the bright lights are on her."

You can watch the conclusion of both singles competitions and ice dancing this weekend on NBC4 from Nationwide Arena.

The 2024 American championships are one of many warm up events in the run-up to the Winter Olympics, coming to Italy in 2026. An American woman has not won a singles figure skating gold medal since Sarah Hughes in 2002 while Malinin will hope to give the USA back-to-back golds in men's singles.

The 25th Winter Olympic Games will open on Feb. 6, 2026 from Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo and be broadcast on NBC4.