LIPINSKI DOESN'T HOLD ANYTHING BACK.

Byline: Associated Press 

Someone forgot to tell Tara Lipinski this was just the qualifying round. The 14-year-old U.S. champion showed no restraint Monday at the World Figure Skating Championships.

Lipinski nailed seven clean triples - repeating jump for perfect jump from her title-winning performances at the U.S. nationals last month and at an international competition at Hamilton, Ontario.

Lipinski skated as if this were the championship itself. Either out of fear, or experience, all of her top competitors held something back.

World champion Michelle Kwan doubled out on two triples and cut another jump down to a single. Irina Slutskaya of Russia, the No. 3 skater in the world, nearly stopped jumping altogether in the second half of her program.

And China's Chen Lu, who lost a close decision to Kwan last year, held back nearly every jump on her first return to competition since the 1996 worlds. She fell on her first jump, a triple lutz, then singled on four others. The misery showed on her face.

Lipinski and Kwan both led their qualifying rounds, confirming the world championship in 1997 will be a showdown between the two top American skaters - Kwan's edge of maturity against Lipinski's uncontainable energy with Nicole Bobek's comeback adding a possible element of surprise.

As the qualifyings showed, it's not in Lipinski's nature to hold back.

``She comes into the rink every day and wants to do 20 lutzes and 20 flips,'' said Lipinski's coach Richard Callaghan.

After getting her jumping impulse under control, Callaghan and choreographer Lori Nichol worked on adding maturity to her program, with pulled-back hair and lace and sequined costumes to match.

In the time it took the changes to take hold, Lipinski jumped from a 15th place finish in the 1996 world championships to the skater to beat in 1997.

``The speed, the confidence and the height of jumps,'' Callaghan said. ``She's a totally different package than a year ago.''

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