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Kristi Tsuya Yamaguchi (born July 12 1971) is an American figure skater. In December 2005, she was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

Biography

Kristi Yamaguchi was born July 12, 1971 in Hayward, California to Jim Yamaguchi, a dentist, and Carole Doi, a medical secretary. A fourth-generation Japanese American, Kristi’s grandparents were victims of the United States' anti-Japanese policies during World War II and were sent to an internment camp, where her mother was born. Kristi and her siblings, Brett and Lori, grew up in Fremont, California where Kristi attended Mission San Jose High School. Yamaguchi began skating as a child, as physical therapy for her club feet.

Pairs career

With Rudy Galindo she won the junior title at the U.S. championships in 1986. Two years later, Yamaguchi won the singles and, with Galindo, the pairs titles at the 1988 World Junior Pair Championships. In 1989 Yamaguchi and Galindo won the senior U.S. championships pairs title and won again in 1990. As a pairs team, Yamaguchi and Galindo were unusual in that they were both accomplished singles skaters, and in that they jumped and spun in opposite directions, Yamaguchi counter-clockwise, and Galindo clockwise. In 1990, Yamaguchi decided to focus solely on singles. Galindo went on to have a successful singles career as well, winning the 1996 U.S. championships and the 1996 World bronze medal.

Singles career

In 1991, coached by Christy Ness, Yamaguchi placed second to Tonya Harding at the U.S. championships, her third consecutive silver medal at Nationals. The following month in Munich, Germany, Yamaguchi won the 1991 World Championships. That year the American ladies team, consisting of Yamaguchi, Harding and Nancy Kerrigan, became the first and only national team to have its members place first, second and third at Worlds. In 1992, Yamaguchi won her first U.S. title and gained a spot to the 1992 Winter Olympic Games in Albertville, France. Joining her on the U.S. team were again Kerrigan and Harding. While competitors Harding and Japan’s Midori Ito were consistently landing the difficult triple axel jump in competition, Yamaguchi instead focused on her artistry and her triple-triple combinations in hopes of becoming a more rounded skater. Both Harding and Ito fell on their triple axels at the Olympics, (though Ito successfully landed the jump later on in her program after missing it the first time) allowing Yamaguchi to win the gold, despite errors in her free program, including a step-out on a triple loop and a double salchow instead of a planned triple. Yamaguchi went on to successfully defend her World title that same year.

Oddly enough, while Yamaguchi regularly landed the relatively difficult triple lutz and triple flip jumps, she had problems with the comparatively easy triple salchow jump, landing it successfully only once in competition during the height of her career from 1991 through 1992 - this occurring at the 1992 U.S. national championships, at what is generally regarded to be her finest performance as a competitive singles skater.

Professional life

Kristi Yamaguchi turned professional after the 1992 competitive season. She toured for many years with Stars on Ice and was also a fixture on the pro competition circuit. In recent years she has cut back on her skating schedule to concentrate on family life. Since July 8, 2000 she has been married to Bret Hedican, an NHL hockey player she initially met at the 1992 Winter Olympics. Yamaguchi and Hedican, who is currently with the Carolina Hurricanes, reside near Raleigh, North Carolina with their two daughters, Keara Kiyomi, born on October 1, 2003 and Emma Yoshiko, born on November 16, 2005.

In 1996, she established the Always Dream Foundation for children.

She is good friends with fellow figure skaters Michelle Kwan and Kurt Browning.

Competitive highlights

External links

• AlwaysDream.org: Kristi's official website
• Kristi Yamaguchi's U.S. Olympic Team bio
• olympic.org Athlete Profile - Yamaguchi
• Yamaguchi induction into US Olympic Hall of Fame
• AlohaShoyu.com: Kristi Yamaguchi & Aloha Shoyu Company

See also

• U.S. Figure Skating Championships (list of national champions)
• List of Olympic medalists in figure skating
• World Figure Skating Championships

Navigation

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