Kristi Yamaguchi Ice Skater Views

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Abotu Kristi Yamaguchi: Kristi Yamaguchi is an Olympic Gold Medalist; two-time World Champion, U.S. National Champion and a four-time World Profession Champion. She was one of the first U.S. women to compete in both pairs' events and ladies' singles and win pairs titles in 1989 and 1990. She and her partner, Rudy Galindo, were the 1988 World Junior Pairs Champions. Kristi also won the Junior Ladies Title that same year. Kristi also was the first American to win the Olympic Gold Medal since Dorothy Hamill in 1976. Later, as a professional, she won four titles and was honored as 1996 Skater of the Year by American Skating World. Kristi was named to the U.S. Hall of Fame by the United States Figure Skating Association and to the World Skating Hall of Fame in 1999. On December 8, 2005, Kristi was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Committee Olympic Hall of Fame. This is particularly a huge honor for Kristi.

Kristi's Olympic victory encouraged millions of young American girls to strive for something better and 'always dream.' She has authored two book projects, Figure Skating for Dummies and Kristi Yamaguchi, Always Dream. Yamaguchi has been chosen favorite female athlete among adult fans by ESPN and Favorite Female Athlete by Nickelodeon's Kid's Choice Awards in 1997 and 1998. In addition to her busy skating schedule and various commercial and charitable ventures, Kristi found time for love. Her July 2000 wedding to NHL star Bret Hedican drew hundreds of friends to Big Island in Hawaii. Kristi and Bret split their time among Raleigh, NC, San Francisco and Minnesota where she enjoys relaxing and spending time with her family. She and her husband welcomed their first child, daughter Keara, on October 1, 2003. Their second daughter, Emma Yoshiko Hedican, was born on November 17, 2005.

Kristine Tsuya Kristi Yamaguchi-Hedican (born July 12, 1971)[1] is an American figure skater. She is the 1992 Olympic Champion in ladies' singles. Yamaguchi also won two World Figure Skating Championships in 1991 and 1992 and a U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1992. She won one junior world title in 1988 and two national titles in 1989 and 1990 as a pairs skater with Rudy Galindo. In December 2005, she was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. Yamaguchi was a local commentator on figure skating for San Francisco TV station KNTV (NBC 11) during the 2006 Winter Olympics.[2] In 2008, Yamaguchi became the celebrity champion in the sixth season of Dancing with the Stars.

As a pairs team, Yamaguchi and Galindo were unusual in that they were both accomplished singles skaters, which allowed them to consistently perform difficult elements like side by side Triple Flip jumps, which are still more difficult than side by side jumps performed by current top international pairs teams. They also jumped and spun in opposite directions, Yamaguchi counter-clockwise, and Galindo clockwise, which gave them an unusual look on the ice. 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.