Kristi YamaguchiBirth Place: Hayward, California, USA Date of Birth: July 12, 1971 Heritage: American Contact Kristi Yamaguchi | 
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Olympic Medalist Background: American figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi had collected outstanding resume before turning professional in 1992. Along with partner Rudy Galindo, she became the World Champion in 1988 and the U.S. National Champion twice in 1989 and 1990. As a single, the fan of skater Dorothy Hamill picked up two consecutive World Figure Skating Championships in 1991 and 1992 and a National Figure Skating Championships in 1992. She also was a gold medalist at the 1992 Olympic Games and a World Juniors Champion in 1988. In her pro career, the dominant skater has crowned World Pro Figure Skating Champion titles four times in 1992, 1994, 1996 and 1997. For her impressive achievement, in 1998, Yamaguchi was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame and the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame. She also was named International Figure Skating Magazine's “Most Influential Person in Figure Skating” in 2002. Other honors she has received include two Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice awards for Favorite Female Athlete (1996, 1998), American Skating World's Skater of the Year Award (1996) and an Athlete of the Year award for Figure Skating from the U. S. Olympic Committee (1989). Yamaguchi has been married to NHL defenseman Bret Hedican since 2000, whom she first met at the Winter Olympics in 1992. On the meeting, she recalled, “Figure skaters have awful perceptions of hockey players, and I thought, 'This guy's a little different.'” The couple now live in Raleigh, North Carolina with their daughters, Keara and Emma. The Olympic gold medalist founded the Always Dream Foundation in 1996, whose goal is to promote, support, encompass the hopes and dreams of children. She counts fellow figure skaters Michelle Kwan, Scott Hamilton and Kurt Browning among her good friends. She has published a book titled “Pure Gold, Always Dream, and Figure Skating for Dummies.”
Childhood and Family: A third-generation Japanese- American, Kristi Tsuya Yamaguchi was born on July 12, 1971 in Hayward, California, to Jim Yamaguchi, a dentist, and Carole Doi, a medical secretary. Kristi and her siblings Lori and Brett were raised in Fremont, California. There, she attended Mission San Jose High School. On July 8, 2000, Kristi Yamaguchi, known by family and friends as Yama, married professional hockey player Bret Hedican, who now plays for the Carolina Hurricanes. She gave birth to the couple's first child, daughter Keara Kiyomi, on October 1, 2003.Their second daughter, Emma Yoshiko, was born on November 16, 2005.
Career: Kristi Yamaguchi was introduced to skating from an early age in order to correct her club feet. By the time she was a teenager, she had turned competitive, and won her first title in pairs discipline at the 1986 Junior U.S. Championship, along with partner Rudy Galindo. The two went on to secure the bronze medal at the 1987 Junior Worlds Championship and eventually became the World Junior Pairs Champion in the following year. They also won the two consecutive national titles in 1989 and 1990. In the meantime, Yamaguchi also competed in the women's singles. Under the guidance of Christy Ness, she won the World Junior Ladies title in 1988, the same year she also succeeded in pairs field. When her couch moved to Edmonton, she alternated between California and Edmonton so that she still could train in both disciplines. Following the death of her pairs coach, Jim Hulick, she decided to concentrate entirely on singles and relocated to Edmonton in 1991. In that same year, Yamaguchi competed at the U.S championship and ended up placing the second, under Tonya Harding. She had previously won silver medals in the national competitions in 1989 and 1990. She then traveled to Munich, Germany to participate at the 1991 World Championship. There she won her first world title. One of Yamaguchi's most memorable moments occurred the following year when, after winning her first female national title, she earned a place for the 1992 Winter Olympic Games in France. She won the gold medal in the games. The same year, the accomplished skater also defended her World title. Following the 1992 contending season, Yamaguchi tried her luck as a professional player. She won the World Pro Figure Skating Championships four times in 1992, 1994, 1996 and 1997. In recent years, Yamaguchi has reduced her skating activities to focus on her family. When asked if her daughters had changed her life in a big way, she answered, “Absolutely. As a skater my whole life, I focused on my career and myself so it's been wonderful to just share so many new things in life with two little ones and just be a mom and kind of experience all that, joys, and the challenges too.” Outside of skating, Yamaguchi has appeared in several print advertisements for clients like Harlick Skating Boots (1998), Anna Sui's Celanese Acetate Fiber fashions (1998-2000) and a TV commercial for Wendy's (1993). She portrayed Jasmine in the television film “Aladdin on Ice” (1995), based on the 1992 Disney movie “Aladdin,” appeared as regionals judge #4 on the sport-themed film “On Edge” (2001), starring Jason Alexander, and guest starred as Haruko Obata in an episode of the documentary series “Freedom: A History of Us” (2003).
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