They lost me with Tara Lipinski. At least she retired shortly after her Olympic win. 
With all the pressure to focus on increasingly difficult jumps, I guess falling on their asses is the best case scenario. The ones who land on their heads tell a very different story:
http://www.espn.com/skating/news/2000/0211/350459.html
So, there’s a lot of pressure and risk even though some folks perceive ice skating as being less of a challenge than other sports. They combine the strength, athleticism, balance, and stamina attributed to ballet dancers with working on a very unforgiving surface…while wearing heavy skates. I’m always amazed at the pros who also manage to make it look easy.
