A Stitch Kills Time

Posted: Sun February 15, 1998 at 2:36 PM ET

U.S. figure skater Tara Lipinski skates in the ladies' short program this Wednesday. If she's nervous, she doesn't look it. Between practice sessions Saturday, we saw Lipinski working on her needlepoint in the media work room at White Ring. Lipinski, 15, is making a pillow for her mother, Pat.

"I've been doing needlepoint for a long time," said Lipinski with a smile.

The sight of Tara tending to her handicraft had members of the press in stitches. CBS quickly called in a cameraman to capture the moment.

Fashion Statement

Looking good and skating well go hand in hand. So it's no suprise that New York designer Donna Karan is the official outfitter for the 1998 U.S. Figure Skating Team. Karan designed the team's warm-up gear and casual wear. She also designed the skating costumes for Todd Eldredge and the U.S. pairs team of Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow.

We asked Christy Hood, vice president of public relations for Donna Karan, what makes an effective skating costume.

"Form and function," said Hood. "Yes, it has to beautiful, but it has to be comfortable, too.

"When we had our first fitting with Elizabeth, we had her do some of her moves. She heard a rip and wanted to stop. We said, 'That's okay, let it rip.' Walking down the street is different from doing spins and flips. We had to know what the demands would be on the outfit."

Hood said that skaters are moving away from costumes that match the story of their music. Instead, they are choosing outfits that just look good.

So what makes a good-looking costume?

"A good costume evokes an emotion," said Hood. "When the skater's personality comes through and it's not all about the outfit, the skater looks better. I think Michelle Kwan is the best-dressed skater on ice. She's always elegant and understated."

And what makes a bad costume?

"When the only thing people notice is what you are wearing," said Hood. "When the costume overshadows the skater, that's bad.

"There's so much competition for the worst-dressed skaters. I can't choose just one. It's not because the skaters have bad taste. There just aren't that many good costumes to choose from."

You asked for it

Time to dip into the CNN/SI cyber mailbag. Steve from Tokyo wrote to ask if athletes are really eating food from McDonald's in the athlete village. Well, Steve, it's true. And here's how much they are eating. (These totals were through Thursday, February 12.)

• 1,000 hamburgers
• 2,000 cheeseburgers
• 4,000 filet-o-fish sandwiches
• 7,500 Big Macs
• 1,100 double hamburgers
• 6,500 double cheeseburgers
• 5,500 chicken McNuggets
• 8,500 french fries
• 4,400 apple pies

Perhaps the biggest fan of the athlete's 24-hour, everything-for-free McDonald's is Krzysztof Sienko of the Polish four-man bobsled team. Sienko, 21, favors Big Macs and filet-o-fish sandwiches.

"I vow to eat McDonald's every day that I'm here at the Olympics," said Sienko.

Hmmm. . .

PREVIOUS EDITIONS
February 14: Will You Be My Valentine?
February 13: A Spin Around the Village
February 12: Rockin' the Halfpipe
February 11: African skiers making strides
February 10: Surf's up for wired athletes
February 9: Heart of Nagano
February 8: Be careful what you wish for...
February 7: The Olympic spirit