By Brian Carr
CBS SportsLine Senior Editor
Oct. 23, 1997

It's got the makings of Ali-Frazier. McEnroe-Connors. Yankees-Red Sox.

Tara Lipinski and Michelle Kwan have a legendary rivalry in the works, with world championships already won and lost, distinct styles to compare, Olympic gold at stake.

Americans can take comfort in one thing -- both compete for Team USA, and are already guaranteed Olympic spots, due to their previous finishes. Here's a closer look at the two.

Tara Lipinski

She's the reigning world and national champion, and she's the youngest ever.

Lipinski,

Tara Lipinski (Allsport)

now 15, wrested those titles from Kwan, who twice fell in the 1997 U.S. Nationals long program and touched her hand to the ice on a third jump.

THAT LEFT THE DOOR OPEN FOR Lipinski, who took the ice in front of a 16,052-fan sellout at the Nashville Arena. She landed seven triple jumps and the first-ever triple-triple loop combination in female competition.

Her title came with post-championship scuttlebutt: Many thought Kwan lost the title in Nashville, not that Lipinski earned it.

"Everybody expected it to go to her head when she beat Michelle at the Nationals," said Lipinski's coach, Richard Callaghan. "But it hasn't. She's a workhorse and she's not into this 'I'm a ladies' champ' stuff."

Three weeks later Lipinski did it again, beating Kwan at the Champions Series in Ontario. It became a three-peat when Lipinski upset Kwan at the 1997 World Championships in March.

Lipinski, at 4-foot-8, has a natural advantage. Her small frame has a lower center of gravity, which makes it easier for her to jump than her more mature competitors.

HER DISADVANTAGE IS THAT SHE cannot match the artistic feel of the more experienced and feminine skaters. Kwan, for example, outscored her rival in the more expressive free skate at the 1997 World Championships, only to lose the title because of botched falls in the short skate.

There's no doubt that Lipinski benefits from the rule change that eliminated the compulsories from Olympic competition. Those intense skating drills -- which included making precise figure-eights in front of several judges -- favored the older, more experienced skaters.

Now Lipinski is a Nagano medal favorite.

"Right from the time I saw those people (on TV) standing on the podium, that is what I wanted to do," Lipinski said. "Being Olympic champion is my dream and what I am working for."

That dream started when her mother took her to a roller-skating rink that was offering free Care Bears. Tara, 3, became hooked on skating, although the family ended up paying $10 for the bear.

"I REALIZED THAT THIS IS WHAT I wanted to do," Lipinski said. "I knew I wanted to skate for the rest of my life."

Callaghan, her coach, has faith in her Olympic dream.

"She loves to skate, period," said Callaghan. "And she loves to win. She wants the Olympics. She wants gold, and she will make it happen."

Michelle Kwan

In 1996,

Michelle Kwan (Allsport)

Kwan placed first in five major events: The U.S. Championships, the Champion Series Final, the World Championships, Skate America and Trophee Lalique in France. There's little wonder why she was the consensus favorite for Olympic gold in Nagano.

Then came 1997.

Kwan had a little swagger going into the 1997 U.S. Championships in Nashville, saying, "The only one who can beat me is me." She neglected to mention Lipinski, who broke Kwan's nine-event winning streak.

AFTER LOSING HER NATIONAL AND WORLD titles, Kwan has a more humble perspective on her rival. "I guess we'll be competing against each other for the next 25 years," Kwan said. "We're both young and I don't know how long she intends to skate, but I'll be there too."

She sent her calling card in the final event of the 1997 season when she won the free skate. It's the longer portion of the program that awards skaters for their artistic skills.

"I've been skating like a scared chicken, but I think I've killed it off now," she said after that first-place score. "Instead of feeling like I had to win, I wanted to have fun. I've learned a lesson this year."

If there's any benefit to losing the World Championship, it's that Kwan is not going to Nagano with the added pressure that she's supposed to win it all.

AS AN ADDED EDGE AGAINST HER younger rival, look for Kwan and her coaches to play up her more mature feminine side -- with makeup, music and even her facial expressions -- for those demure judges.

She began skating at age 5 because her family lived near a mall that had a rink. Then she saw the 1988 Winter Olympics and was hooked.

"The first time I watched the Olympics on TV, I knew I wanted to be there someday," she said. "When I'm training and tired and exhausted and want to stop, lots of things go through my mind. So I think about the Olympics and I push myself harder."

At 17, she's already thinking of her legacy to the sport.

"I want to be a legend. I want people to remember me after 1,000 years when skating is weird and people are doing quintuple jumps," she said. "I want to be the best and walk out."

Brian Carr is CBS SportsLine's senior editor.