1. Kristine Tsuya Yamaguchi was born on July 12,1971 and is an American former competitive figure skater, author and philanthropist.
42 Facts About Kristi Yamaguchi
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Kristi Yamaguchi won the World Professional Figure Skating Championships four times in her career.
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In 2005, Kristi Yamaguchi was inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame, and in 2008, she became the celebrity champion in the sixth season of Dancing with the Stars.
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Kristi Yamaguchi was born on July 12,1971, in Hayward, California, to Jim Kristi Yamaguchi, a dentist, and Carole, a medical secretary.
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Kristi Yamaguchi's grandparents were sent to an internment camp during World War II, where her mother was born.
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Kristi Yamaguchi was born with bi-lateral clubfoot, resulting in serial leg casting for most of the first year of her life followed by corrective shoes and bracing, and began skating as physical therapy when she was 4 or 5 after seeing Peggy Fleming and Dorothy Hamill in the Ice Follies and Ice Capades.
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From sixth grade on, Kristi Yamaguchi practiced from 5 am to 10 am before school and sometimes after school.
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In 1986, Kristi Yamaguchi won the junior title at the US championships with Rudy Galindo.
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Two years later, Kristi Yamaguchi won the singles and, with Galindo, the pairs titles at the 1988 World Junior Championships; Galindo had won the 1987 World Junior Championship in singles.
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Kristi Yamaguchi won her first major international gold medal in figure skating at the 1990 Goodwill Games.
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In 1991, Kristi Yamaguchi moved to Edmonton, Alberta, to train with coach Christy Ness.
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That year, the American ladies team, consisting of Kristi Yamaguchi, Harding and Nancy Kerrigan, became the only national ladies team to have its members sweep the Worlds podium until the 2021 World Figure Skating Championships, when Anna Shcherbakova, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva and Alexandra Trusova swept the podium representing FSR.
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In 1992, Kristi Yamaguchi won her first US title and gained a spot to the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.
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Skate America became a source of contention between the federation and Kristi Yamaguchi, who was unable to be ready in time due to a busy schedule with commercial appearances and speaking engagements following her wins at the 1992 Winter Olympics and 1992 World Championships.
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Kristi Yamaguchi finished second in 1993 behind Midori Ito and in 1995 behind Yuka Sato.
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Kristi Yamaguchi toured extensively with Stars On Ice for over a decade.
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Originally, Stars On Ice was a 30-city tour, but when Kristi Yamaguchi joined, it quickly became a 60-city tour due to her ability to captivate an audience.
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Kristi Yamaguchi collaborated with a variety of choreographers to create diverse programs.
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Kristi Yamaguchi was featured in ads for Campbell Soup, a sponsor of US Figure Skating at the time.
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Kristi Yamaguchi collaborated with OPI and General Electric in 2011 and appeared in a TV spot for department store retail chain Kohl's in 2012.
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In 2018, Kristi Yamaguchi worked with the Milk Life Campaign that aims to explain the significance of milk in a well-balanced, nutritious diet.
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In 2006, Kristi Yamaguchi was the host of WE tv series Skating's Next Star, created and produced by Major League Figure Skating.
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Kristi Yamaguchi was a local commentator on figure skating for San Jose TV station KNTV during the 2006 Winter Olympics.
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In 2010, Kristi Yamaguchi worked as a daily NBC Olympics skating broadcast analyst on NBC's Universal Sports Network.
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Kristi Yamaguchi performed in numerous television skating specials, including the Disney special Aladdin on Ice, in which she played Princess Jasmine, and in 2016 she hosted the "Colgate Skating Series" on ABC, a show featuring skaters such as Nancy Kerrigan, Paul Wylie, and Todd Eldridge, who performed with their families.
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On May 20,2008, Kristi Yamaguchi became the champion of the sixth season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars, where she was paired with Mark Ballas.
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Kristi Yamaguchi became the first female winner since Kelly Monaco in season one.
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Kristi Yamaguchi made a special appearance in the finale of the sixteenth season where she danced alongside Dorothy Hamill, and in November 2017, she returned to Dancing with the Stars' 25th season in week eight to participate in a jazz trio with Lindsey Stirling and Mark Ballas.
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Kristi Yamaguchi released Figure Skating for Dummies in 1997 followed by Always Dream, Pure Gold in 1998.
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In early 2012, Kristi Yamaguchi created a woman's active wear line focused on function, comfort, and style to empower women to look good and feel good.
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In February 2009, Kristi Yamaguchi walked the runway with nineteen other celebrity women at the Heart Truth fashion show that took place during New York Fashion Week to raise awareness about heart disease.
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In 1996, Kristi Yamaguchi established the Always Dream Foundation for children.
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Kristi Yamaguchi was selected as one of the 2023 CNN Heroes for her work with the Always Dream Foundation.
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Kristi Yamaguchi finished ahead of two Japanese skaters at a competition in 1988 but the medal ceremony was delayed while organizers tried to track down a Japanese flag for Kristi Yamaguchi, unaware that she was American.
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Kristi Yamaguchi was the first Asian American to win gold at a Winter Olympic Games, paving the way for Asian American skaters that came after her like two-time Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan, two-time Olympic champion Nathan Chen, Olympic gold medalist Karen Chen, and World medalist Alysa Liu.
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Kristi Yamaguchi has received numerous awards in recognition of her achievements and impact.
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Kristi Yamaguchi was the recipient of the Inspiration Award at the 2008 Asian Excellence Awards.
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Kristi Yamaguchi is a member of the US Olympic Committee Olympic Hall of Fame, World Skating Hall of Fame, and the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
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In 2012, Kristi Yamaguchi appeared in a campaign advertisement for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
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Kristi Yamaguchi endorsed the politician in both of his presidential bids, donating the legal maximum of $2,300 to Romney's 2008 presidential campaign, and $2,500 to his 2012 presidential campaign.
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Kristi Yamaguchi identifies as a conservative Republican; yet, she stated in 2009 that she appreciated then-president Barack Obama as a "decision-maker", nonetheless criticizing in the same interview the state of the economy under his leadership.
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Kristi Yamaguchi played for one year with the Anaheim Ducks.