Kwan, of course, still is skating, and has petitioned U.S. Figure Skating for a medical bye onto the Olympic team for Turin. Kwan missed nationals with a groin injury; she previously was bothered by a hip problem that sidelined her for the early part of the season.

“I know she will make the team,” Lipinski said of her former rival. “I don’t think it’s a tough decision.”

Could Lipinski still hack it under the new judging system that emphasizes technical elements?

“Yes, I could,” she said. Then she emphasized it would never happen.

“I loved what the competition was. I had a good run with Stars on Ice after, and a pro career. Since I’ve gone into acting alone, I have another goal. Its nice to have a second part of my life.”

Moving on
Getting dumped wound up being the best thing to happen to Ryan O’Meara.

O’Meara and former partner Lydia Manon were rising stars in ice dance, finishing third at both the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and Four Continents last year. But shortly after Four Continents, Manon ended their partnership so she could skate with her boyfriend, fellow dancer Brandon Forsyth.

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“I was ready to go home,” said O’Meara, who earned the third spot on the Turin Olympic team Friday with new partner Jamie Silverstein. “I didn’t know what I was doing.”

O’Meara’s coach, Igor Shpilband, recommended he try skating with Jamie Silverstein. Silverstein had won the world junior title with another partner in 1999, but was out of the sport for four years while she battled an eating disorder.

“That’s just the person who I knew I wanted to skate with,” he said. “I knew if it was going to work this season, it was going to have to be with her.”

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Dance teams usually take years to jell, but Silverstein and O’Meara clicked right away. They won their sectional to qualify for nationals, then made a steady climb in the rankings this week. They were fourth in the compulsory dance and third in the original dance, then finished second in the free dance to win the bronze medal — and a place on the Olympic team.

Manon and Forsyth, meanwhile, weren’t even at nationals. She was ill this fall, and they weren’t able to compete at sectionals.

“I’m so glad I picked her,” O’Meara said. “I don’t think it could have worked out any better. I think it was a blessing in disguise what happened.”

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