Before she competed Friday, Lipinski stood in line at a local photo booth and had her picture taken for a sheet of stickers. She attacked her nerves with activity, sending E-mail, wandering the athletes village, getting her mind off the four minutes that would shape her life. Maybe it made a difference. Maybe she is such a cold-blooded competitor that her environment is extraneous. Maybe the answer is all of the above.
Different athletes respond to different stimuli before a competition.
No one way works for everyone. The advantage of Tara Lipinski's way is that it affords a fuller Olympic experience. The Cincinnati Enquirer , a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper.