Kristi Yamaguchi
Olympic champion figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi has not been in the news much since she was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2005. Now, her name is in the news again – as one of the new contestants on the upcoming season of “Dancing with the Stars.” Kristi’s dancing partner will be Mark Ballas.
Kristi Tsuya Yamaguchi was born on July 12, 1971 in Hayward, California. She has two siblings, Brent and Lori, and all three grew up in Fremont, California where she attended Mission San Jose High School.
Kristi started ice skating as a form of physical therapy because she was born with clubfeet. But, it was soon discovered that she was a skating natural when she and Rudy Galindo won the U.S. Championships junior pairs title in 1986. She followed that up by winning the singles title in 1988. She and Ruby won the 1988 World Junior Pair Championship and in 1989 and 1990, they won the U.S. Championships senior pairs title.
In 1990, Kristi decided to concentrate on skating as a single, rather than a pair. She began training under Coach Christy Ness in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. In 1991, she came in second in the U.S. Championships behind Tonya Harding, but just a month later, she won the 1991 World Championships in Munich, Germany. That year, the American team placed ladies in the first three positions (the team consisted of Kristi, Tonya Harding, and Nancy Kerrigan) – the only time a national team has done that at the World Championships.
Kristi would win her first U.S. title at the in 1992, which earned her a spot on the 1992 Winter Olympic team. Kristi won the gold medal at the Olympics then successfully defended her World Championship title.
After the 1992 Winter Olympics, Kristi decided to turn professional. She toured with Stars on Ice for almost 10 years and competed in the professional circuit. She has demonstrated her skating skills on television many times, appearing in “Kodak’s Salute to Gold,” “Divas on Ice,” “Holiday Special with Charlotte Church,” “Brian Boitano’s Skating Spectacular,” “Hyundai’s Tribute to the Movies on Ice,” and her own special “Salute to American Music.” She also competed on “Ice Wars,” CBS’ professional skating competition.
She married NHL player Bret Hedican in July 2000. The two reside in Raleigh, North Carolina where Bret plays for the Carolina Hurricanes. They have two daughters – Keara Kiyomi, born in 2003 and Emma Yoshiko, born in 2005.
Kristi is actively involved in charities, having founded the Always Dream Foundation in 1996. The foundation helps inspire and embrace the hopes and dreams of children. She is also the honorary chair for A Toast to the Triangle, which raises monies for the Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Diseases. She received the Thurman Munson Award for her success both as an athlete and in the helping the community. Kristi was also chosen the Favorite Female Athlete by ESPN and she received the Nickelodeon’s Kid’s Choice Award in 1997 and 1998.
She has written two books: Figure Skating for Dummies and Kristi Yamagushi, Always Dream.
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