TARA LIPINSKI -- Skating fans best remember Lipinski as the 15-year-old sprite who upset heavily favored Michele Kwan to win the gold medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics and become the youngest athlete to win a championship in any Winter Olympic sport. But Lipinski has become much more than an engaging jumping jack in the four years since her stunning victory. She has developed her artistry so that it matches, perhaps even surpasses, her on-ice athleticism. Still only 19 years old, she also has become a commercial spokeswoman for a long list of companies ranging from McDonald's to Charles Schwab and launched a promising acting career. Among her acting gigs are a recurring role on the soap opera "The Young and the Restless" and a spot in the new Tom Cruise film "Vanilla Sky."
KRISTI YAMAGUCHI -- Stars on Ice co-star Kurt Browning says Yamaguchi is skating even better now than she did when she joined the tour as the reigning Olympic champion 10 years ago. "I don't know how she does it," he said of Yamaguchi, 30. Along with two amateur senior world championships, she has won all of the major pro competitions at least once and remains one of the most popular female athletes in any sport. One of the few women to reach the highest levels of amateur skating both in singles and pairs -- she was world junior champion in both events -- her multiple talents make her a perfect fit for the ensemble-style numbers in Stars on Ice. Yamaguchi is married to Bret Hedican, a player with the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes in the National Hockey League.
KATARINA WITT -- Who will ever forget her "Dueling Carmens" with American Debi Thomas at the 1988 Calgary Olympics? Or her moving interpretation of Pete Seeger's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?," which she dedicated to war-torn Sarajevo at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games? It is no wonder this two-time Olympic, four-time world champion was voted No. 1 living female Winter Olympic athlete of the century by the Associated Press in 1999. Witt, 36, has gone on to have an acting career, with roles in "Jerry Maguire," "Ronin" and in the HBO comedy series "Arli$$." She returns to Stars on Ice for the first time since 1997.
ILIA KULIK -- Kulik, 24, a native of Moscow, won the 1998 Olympic championship in Nagano, Japan, and then turned professional. He is in his fourth season with Stars on Ice. Now a resident of Los Angeles, Kulik also has begun acting and last year was in the Nicholas Hytner film "Center Stage." He and his partner, Olympic pairs champion Ekaterina Gordeeva, became the parents of a baby girl, Elizaveta, last June 15.
ANJELIKA KRYLOVA and OLEG OUSIANNIKOV -- Russians Krylova, 28, and Ousiannikov, 32, began ice dancing together in 1994 after years of skating with other partners. Two years later they won the world silver medal and two years after that they won the Olympic silver medal in Nagano, Japan. New this year to Stars on Ice, they live, train and teach at the University of Delaware.
JENNI MENO and TODD SAND -- This married couple is the most successful pairs skaters in American history: they are three-time national champions, 1998 world silver medalists and two-time world bronze medalists. They also represented the United States at three Olympics. Former singles skaters, each had different pairs partners before they teamed in 1992. Their first year they were fifth at worlds. They finished fifth -- and got engaged -- at the 1994 Olympics and married the following year. Meno, 31, and Sand, 38, have their own training rink in Costa Mesa, Calif.
DENIS PETROV -- Petrov, 33, is former pairs partner of Elena Bechke, with whom he won the Olympic silver medal in 1992. He is skating alone for the second consecutive year in Stars on Ice. Elena and Denis teach skaters of all levels in Richmond, Va.
STEVEN COUSINS -- Cousins, 29, is an eight-time British champion who now trains in Barrie, Ontario. Known for his fun-loving style on and off the ice, he also is developing an acting career. Cousins skated at three Olympic Games. He was sixth in 1998 at Nagano, Japan.
LUCINDA RUH -- Ruh, 22, was 1996 Swiss champion but she has lived and trained all over the world, including Japan, China and Canada. A magnificent spinner, Ruh is skating with Stars on Ice for the first time.
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