Lipkovskaya began gymnastics training in 1983. She trained at the Dynamo Krasnoyarsk club, coached by
Olga Buyanova. She was second in the national championship in 1993 and 1995. Lipkovskaya made her first international appearance at the 1995 tournament in
Corbeil-Essonnes, ranking 7th. At the
1995 World championship in
Vienna, she was included on the 1995 Russian team. Although Lipkovskaya won a team gold medal, she did not yet win an individual medal as opposed to her more experienced and recognized teammates
Amina Zaripova and
Yanina Batyrchina. In 1996, Lipkovskaya won an international tournament in
Portugal and a bronze in one event at the
European championship, but missed the
1996 Summer Olympics in favor of her higher-ranking teammates. The Russian national team head coach,
Irina Viner, opted to send then-Russian number one and number two
Batyrchina and
Zaripova to the Olympic competition in Atlanta. In 1997, following the injury of
Amina Zaripova, Lipkovskaya led the Russian national team at the
1997 World championship in Berlin, scoring two gold (hoop and team), three silver (All-around, rope, ribbon) and one bronze (in clubs). She was ranked second in the All-around finals behind Ukrainian
Olena Vitrychenko. Lipkovskaya then became the
1997 Grand Prix Final champion in
Deventer, Netherlands and in the event finals, she won gold in (rope, hoop); silvers in (clubs, ribbon). Early in 1998, she began her first in a series of treatments for a recurring back injury. After several hospital stays and a short-lived return to the gym, she decided to end her career. ==References==