Frank Thomas

Yamaguchi Notable Sports Figures
Chronology
1971 Born in Hayward, California, on July 12
1976 Begins taking skating lessons
1982 Starts pairs skating, teaming with Rudi Galindo
1990 Withdraws from pairs skating
1992 Launches professional career, skating with Stars on Ice
2000 Marries pro hockey player Bret Hedican
2002 Pulls out of Stars on Ice tour to spend more time with family
her to become involved with hobbies and pastimes that
involved her feet and legs, particularly dancing and skating.
When Kristi was only 4 years old, she watched on
television as Dorothy Hamill won a gold medal in figure
skating at the 1976 Winter Olympics. Captivated by
Hamill and her sport, Yamaguchi began taking skating
lessons, during which she discovered a natural talent for
the sport. Recalling those childhood lessons, Yamaguchi
years later recalled in the San Jose Mercury News:
“When I look back on it, I worked incredibly hard for a
little kid. I would not get off the ice until I did some particular
move right or until I did something! a certain
number of times. From the time I was six, I kept bugging
my mom, ‘Let’s go skating, let’s go skating.’”
Takes Lessons Six Days a Week
Yamaguchi took lessons six days a week, starting at
5 in the morning and lasting five hours. After completing
her daily studies with a private tutor, she either took
dance lessons or trained in pairs skating. In 1982, at the
age of 11, Kristi was paired with 13-year-old Rudy
Galindo (he later changed the spelling of his first name
to Rudi to match Kristi). The two were well matched in
height and strength, and both were good technical
skaters and showed style on the ice. Four years later,
the two took bronze medals in pairs competition at the
World Junior Figure Skating championship. The following
year Yamaguchi and Galindo skated to gold at
the world juniors competition. In January 1988, competing
against adult skaters for the first time, the duo
finished fifth in the pairs competition at the U.S. national
championships. A year later, they’d improved
enough to take the gold medal at the nationals. However,
that same year the pair lost the only coach they’d
ever had when Jim Hulick died of cancer. Although Yamaguchi
and Galindo continued to skate together for
awhile, the loss of Hulick was the beginning of the end
for the pair. Shortly after the two won gold at the nationals
and finished fifth in pairs competition at the
worlds, Kristi announced her intention to leave pairs
skating and concentrate on her singles career.
All through the years of pairs skating with Galindo,
Yamaguchi had continued to compete in the ladies’ singles
and in 1989 had won silver at the nationals competition
in Baltimore, Maryland. She skated to silver again
at the nationals in 1990 and 1991 and began to worry
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Awards and Accomplishments
1986 Wins bronze medal in pairs (with Rudi Galindo) skating at
World Junior Figure Skating championships
1987 Wins gold with Galindo at World Junior championships
1988 Finishes fifth in adult pairs competition at national
championships
1989 Wins gold in pairs and silver in singles at national
championships
1989 Finishes fifth in pairs competition at world championships
1989 Named Amatuer Skater of the Year by Skating magazine
1990 Wins silver in ladies’ singles competition at U.S. national
championships
1991 Wins silver in ladies’ singles competition at U.S. national
championships
1991 Wins gold in ladies’ singles competition at world
championships
1992 Wins gold in ladies’ singles competition at national
championships
1992 Wins gold medal at Winter Olympics in Albertville, France
1995 Chosen by U.S. Olympic Committee as one of the “Top 100
Olympic Champions in History”
1996 Named Skater of the Year by American Skating World
1998 Inducted into U.S. Figure Skating Association Hall of Fame
that she’d reached her peak and would never attain that
elusive gold medal. Reassurance came in the form of a
gold medal in singles skating at the 1991 worlds. In
early 1992 she won a matching gold medal at the nationals
in Orlando, Florida.
Despite her gold medals, however, most skating experts
expressed doubt that Yamaguchi could overcome
the brilliance of Japanese skater Midori Ito at the 1992
Olympics. Ito, the first woman to perform a triple axel
jump in competition, had been hampered by an injury at
the 1991 worlds but arrived at the Olympics in excellent
shape. However, Ito’s hopes for gold were dashed when
she fell while attempting a triple Lutz jump. During her
long program, Yamaguchi took a spill on a triple loop
jump but still made fewer errors than her competitors. In
the end, the gold medal went to Yamaguchi, and Ito was
forced to settle for silver.
Joins Stars on Ice Tour
Shortly after her smashing success in Albertville, Yamaguchi
retired from amateur competition to tour professionally
with Stars on Ice. For the next 10 years, she
toured throughout the country, also competing professionally.
In July of 2000, Yamaguchi married professional
hockey player Bret Hedican. A decade after
joining Stars on Ice, she left the group, looking to spend
more time with her husband and hopefully start a family.
At the time she announced her retirement from Stars
on Ice, Yamaguchi made it clear that she wasn’t retiring
from her sport but hoped to stay close to the ice, participating
in skating specials on television. She said she
was wary of touring but not of her sport. Whether or not
she ever returns full time to skating, Yamaguchi will
forever be remembered for her gold-winning perfor-