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What: “E! True Hollywood Story: Oksana Baiul”

Where: E! Entertainment Television

When: Sunday, 8 p.m.

This one-hour special, part of the “E! True Hollywood Story” series, takes a well-researched, in-depth look at the 1994 Olympic figure skating gold-medal winner and her triumphs and tragedies.

One thing that is missing is footage of Baiul’s performance at Lillehammer, Norway, four years ago. Since E! wanted to show the special during the Nagano Winter Olympics, CBS and the IOC would not release the footage. It really doesn’t hurt the special, though, since this is more a story of Baiul’s life, not just her glory in Lillehammer.

For Baiul’s story to be included in the “True Hollywood Story” series is a little bit of a reach for E! In the past, the series has focused on such people as Karen Carpenter, Michael Landon, Mia Farrow, Gilda Radner, Anthony Perkins and Natalie Woods. But figure skating certainly fits into the realm of entertainment. And it’s a tremendous story.

The documentary takes viewers through Baiul’s early years in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, the site of a Soviet missile factory, through her abandonment by her father at age 2, through the deaths of her grandparents and mother only months apart when she was 13, through her decision not to defend her Olympic title and finally through her auto accident Jan. 13, 1997, near Hartford, Conn. After drinking several Long Island ice teas, an extremely potent alcoholic drink, her blood-alcohol level that night was twice the legal limit for an adult and five times the legal limit for a minor. Baiul was 19 at the time.

For E! to include the four years since Baiul’s triumph at Lillehammer makes the special much more real. It shows an Olympic gold medal and the fame and fortune that follows is not always a good thing.