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Posted: Sat February 21, 1998 at 1:33 PM ET 
An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale rumbled through Nagano Saturday morning. Meanwhile, Tara Lipinski's upset victory over Michelle Kwan on Friday night was still shaking the figure skating world. Here is what both skaters had to say about the competition and the future of the Tara-Michelle rivalry. Lipinski on her gold medal: I slept with it last night. I always said I would do that, so I did. I woke up and I thought, it isn't a dream. It's still going on. Lipinski on Saturday morning's 5.0 earthquake: What earthquake? Lipinski on her rivalry with Kwan: We both skated for ourselves. We both skated well. We were going for the same thing. There's no big rivalry. It's good to have competition. It keeps you working hard and motivated. Lipinski on whether or not she plans to compete in the 2002 Winter Games: It's so hard. I don't even want to think about that. It's four years away. This is my time to enjoy being Olympic champion. Lipinski on how she celebrated her win: It was really late by the time I got back to the Olympic Village. I went to the cafeteria and ate. Then I went to my room and went to sleep.
Lipinski on how she felt entering the free skate: I felt kind of relaxed, just enjoying the experience. I was thinking, This is my chance to have fun. You never know how many Olympic experiences you'll have. I went out there and I knew Michelle had skated well. Anytime the thought came into my mind that I had to skate clean if I wanted to win, I just said, No. I want to go out there. I want to have fun. The biggest thing I thought about was that I didn't want to come off the ice disappointed. I wanted to come off like I did after my short program -- happy. Kwan's second-day take on her second-place finish: I think I should be very proud of myself. I skated two clean programs. I had three wishes when I was young. One of them was to make it to the Olympic team. The other one was to skate well. The third wish was to win the Olympic gold medal. Two wishes came true. I don't think that's too bad. Kwan on whether she plans to compete in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City: I was never a person who quits. I'm not going to be that old. I'll be 21 in 2002. I talked to my coach, Frank Carroll, about it and he thinks I can do it. Who knows what may happen? But I'm going to try really hard to be there. Kwan on whether the pressure of the Olympics made her tentative in her free-skate program: In my mind I was thinking, `Land every jump, don't make a mistake.' Maybe that's the wrong way to think. Maybe I should have gone out there and skated with my heart like I do every day. I think that teaches me a lesson to be more free and to let myself go. Kwan on her rivalry with Lipinski: For the last two years it's been Tara and me. If both of us decide to skate until 2002, I think it will be a big battle. This is a competition. We are trying to fight for the top medal, the top spot. Kwan on whether she would have skated differently had she gone on after Lipinski in the free skate: I don't think there is anything I would change. Maybe if my foot was better I could have done triple-triple combinations. But my foot is not that good right now. Like I said, I have no regrets. I tried my best. I skated hard. I can't say, `I should have done this, I should have done that.' I'm really happy with what I've done. In 20 years, I can look back and be happy with myself. I can say to my kids, `Look, this is your mom.' I tried my best. My best wasn't good enough that night, but I was able to win the silver medal.
My mom and dad were really proud of me. I started crying but they were very strong. My dad said he was only 5 percent disappointed. He was 95 percent filled with joy and happiness that I skated well. They know how hard I've trained, how much I've wanted this. They said life goes on and life is full of surprises. You have to enjoy what you have and put everything in perspective. Kwan on what her coach, Frank Carroll, told her after the competition: He explained to me, there's more to life than this. If you really want to strive for the gold medal, to get better and go to the 2002 Olympics, then go for it. But if you really don't want it, it's not worth torturing yourself. Plus, there's no guarantee that I'll move one step forward in 2002. I know that. But I'm willing, hopefully, to take a chance. Kwan on the judges and other skaters: My skating -- I'm in control of that. Everything else, like the judges and the other skaters, that's out of my hands. I think that's one of the reasons I didn't watch the other skaters after me. I can't stand in front of the television and say "Fall! Fall!" Bob Der and Erin Egan, senior editors at SI For Kids, will be filing daily from Nagano. For a kid-frie ndly version of these reports, check out SI F or Kids Online. Anything you want to know about life in Nagano during the Games? Click here to send your question to Bob and Erin, or e-mail siwriters@cnnsi.com. Be sure to include your name and hometown. Selected questions will be answered in upcoming columns. You can also send questions for specific athletes, and our fearless correspondents will do their best to get a reply.
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