So next time you're watching a performance, just think about the fact that this skinny tiny little blade not only will hold 800 pounds of force when you come down on a quadruple triple jump, but it also holds every bit of work and every dream these skaters have ever dreamt in the balance.
--USA channel, pairs short, U.S. Nationals, January 25, 2024

(talking about figure skating blades after pairs short program)

It's sorta like when you're young and you say, "Hey mom, look, no hands!" when you're riding your bike. It's that kind of difficulty added to a skating jump.
--USA channel, men's short, 4 Continents Championship, February 10, 2023

(on jumps with arms overhead rather than tight against the skater's chest)

The whole world is watching [to see if Ilia Malinin does a quad axel in the free skate]. It's very different from when Tara and I skated when you had to get news about your closest rivals by a carrier pigeon. Everyone sees everything. 

--USA channel, women's short, U. S. Nationals, January 26, 2023

It's almost like you get more points for hiccupping at center ice than you do getting a single jump.

--E! channel, women's free skate, Skate America, October 23, 2022

(after Korean skater Yeoh-jeong Park pulled out of a jump rotation and only earned 0.38 points)

Now I know what it is to be one of those sports fans that like to cheer and bump bellies in bars. I just wanted to hug you and like slap your hand.

--USA Channel, Skate America, men's free skate, October 22, 2022

(to Tara Lipinski after they'd witnessed U. S. skater Ilia Malinin complete a previously unimaginable quad axle)

Her technique is not solid. You can see that her [elbows] are pointing out that way like a sprinkler.
--USA (TV channel), women's free skate, 2022 Olympics, February 17, 2022

(on Estonian skater Eva-Lotta Kiibus' jumping technique in which her elbows point away from her body)

There's a lot of talk in skating about the quality of your knee-bend. And you want a texture kind of like a marshmallow dream. Right--go with me Tara--just that soft and squishy, a little bit bouncy. That's an ideal knee; you don't want whipped cream. That'll melt in the sun.

--NBC, during men's short program, 2022 Olympics, February 7, 2022
(about landing after a jump) 

She does have a habit of really slowing down before the jumps which hurts the quality of those. It would be like running to the end of the diving board and stopping and be like "oh, let's go in by the ladder."

--USA (TV channel), women's short program, 2022 Olympics, February 15, 2022

(on Swiss skater Alexia Paganini)

When she's preparing for a jump, she brakes herself. I don't know if it's just me, but it's like when you get on an escalator and you start waiting for that first step.

--NBC, team event women's short program, 2022 Olympics, February 5, 2022

(on Italian skater Lara Naki Gutmann)

I just want to yell at him "lift with your legs!" Like when my dad's yelling at me about lifting my luggage.

--NBC, men's free skate, 2022 Olympics, February 9, 2022

(on Russian skater Evgeni Semenenko's habit of breaking at the waist when landing quads)

It's about as effective as using cheese as a hammer.

--NBC, team event men's free skate, 2022 Olympics, February 5, 2022

(on the jumping technique Canadian skater Roman Sadovsky used during his performance)

He has a really sluggish jump technique, where it's almost like a slingshot where the string is too loose. It doesn't go very far, but very powerful.

---Olympic Channel, Rostelecom Cup, men's short program, broadcast November 29, 2021

(on Japanese skater Keiji Tanaka)

When somebody can jump like that, you know they were raised right. It's like a dog having good manners.

--NBC, USFS Nationals, men's free skate, January 17, 2021
(on skater Yaroslav Paniot's consistently exceptional jumps)

I miss the ice. I miss being totally alone with my music. I miss flying through the air. I miss the cold. I know this will all end. Stay positive and focus on the things that make you happy.
--Twitter, April 27, 2020

I need to become a panda mother, where I’d go and sit with baby pandas and teach them how to balance a checkbook and land triple lutzes and stuff.
--Twitter, August 8, 2019

Whenever I look at a jacket or a blazer or a pair of pants, I know how many triple axles I fell on to be able to get that.
--lifeandstylemag.com, "Johnny Weir Will Do Anything With Tara Lipinski--Except Exercise" by Chelsea Duff, March 12, 2018

The thing that she's having trouble with, it's almost like an archer like a Katniss Everdeen, with her bow and arrow, trying to shoot the arrow without pulling all the way back, and getting all of that tautness in the bow, and then just trying to, you know, shoot across the ocean or something. 
--NBC, Skate America, Ladies Free Skate, November 26, 2017
(on Karen Chen's jumping problems)
 
Blogger's note: Katniss Everdeen is the main character in the Hunger Games books and movies.

Should Tom Brady be rewarded for trying to throw a Hail Mary pass and missing?
--NBC, 2017 Grand Prix of Figure Skating final, NBC broadcast, December 9, 2017
(on the current scoring system that encourages skaters to attempt difficult jumps, even if they fall)

Blogger's note: Tom Brady is an American football quarterback.

[Tara Lipinski: This guy is setting a new norm. He keeps pushing the bar technically. He's opening this program with a quad lutz.]

More like the new ab-norm. 
--NBC, Grand Prix Finals broadcast, December 20, 2015
(on Chinese skater Jin Boyang)

He has that marshmallow fluff in those knees that hold him upright, no matter what position. Cat-like, if you will.
--NBC, World Figure Skating Championship 2016, broadcast April 10, 2016
(explaining Japanese skater Shoma Uno's ability to complete jumps that are "just a bit off.")