Kristi Yamaguchi

Guide Note

American figure skater, Kristi Yamaguchi, won a gold medal in the 1992 Winter Olympics for singles skating. Earlier in her career she partnered with Rudy Galindo and together they won the junior pairs title at the U.S. championships in 1986, the World Junior Pair Championships in 1988, and the the senior U.S. championships pairs title in 1989 and 1990.

Yamaguchi then decided to focus on a singles skating career and moved to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to train.

Fast Facts

1. Birth name: Kristine Tsuya "Kristi" Yamaguchi
2. Birthdate: July 12, 1971
3. Birthplace: Hayward, California
4. Training Location: San Francisco, California
5. Current Residence: Raleigh, North Carolina
6. Coach: Christy Ness
7. Winner of two World Figure Skating Championships in 1991 and 1992
8. Inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2005
9. Toured with Stars on Ice
10. Founded: The Always Dream Foundation
11. Spouse: NHL hockey player, Bret Hedican
12. Children: Keara Kiyomi and Emma Yoshiko

She appeared on the reality television show Dancing with the Stars Season 6 with dancing partner Mark Ballas. Together, they earned the shows highest first week scores in the history of the show, with each dance earning a nine out of ten, for a total of 27 points. The pair went on to win the contest on May 20, 2008.

When asked if she would ever perform on Dancing with the Stars, she replied: "That’s funny. I am an avid watcher. I am a fan of the show. I think it’s great fun, clean entertainment. My kids love it. I don’t know. I am torn because I love dancing and I watch it and it would be so fun to be able to dance like that and to learn how to dance like that, but on the other hand, I’ve spent my whole adolescence to adult life being judged by judges and being worried about live audiences and stuff like that makes me really nervous."