Kristi Yamaguchi

American Figure Skater, Kristi Yamaguchi, won a gold medal in the 1992 Winter Olympics for singles Figure Skatin. Earlier in her career she partnered with Rudy Galindo to win the junior pairs title at the U.S. championships in 1986, the World Junior Pair Championships in 1988, and the senior U.S. championships pairs title in 1989 and 1990. She also won two World Figure Skating Championships in 1991 and 1992 and a U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1992. Yamaguchi then decided to focus on a singles skating career and moved to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to train.In recent years, she has cut back on her skating schedule to concentrate on raising her two young daughters. She is married to Brett Hedican, a former player in the National Hockey League, and the family resides in Northern California. Yamaguchi is a a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee Olympic Hall of Fame, World Skating Hall of Fame and the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame. In 2008, Yamaguchi became the celebrity champion in the sixth season of Dancing with the Stars.

Yamaguchi appeared on the reality television show Dancing with the Stars Season 6 with dancing partner Mark Ballas. Together, they earned the show's highest first week scores in the history of the program. show. Each of three dances earned a nine out of a possible score of 10 for a total of 27 points. The pair appeared on the show for 10 weeks and went on to win the contest on May 20, 2008. Yamaguchi also spent some time as an actress, appearing on the television series Everybody Loves Raymond and in the movie D2: The Mighty Ducks.

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."

• Born July 12, 1971

• 1986: Won the junior title at the U.S. championships

• 1998: Won the Wold Junior Pair Championship with Rudy Galindo, and again in 1989 and 1990

• 1991: Placed second to Tonya Harding in the US Championships and won the World Championships

• 1992: Won the Gold Medal in the 1992 Winter Olympic Games

• 1996: Established her Always Dream Foundation

• 1998: Inducted into the World and U.S. Figure Skating Halls of Fame

• 2000: Married NHL player Bret Hedican

• 2005: Inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame

• 2006-present: Continues skating non-professionally touring the world and promoting her foundation

• 2008: Signed up for Dancing with the Stars

• 2008: Kristi Yamaguch Wins Dancing with the Stars! http://www.etonline.com/news/2008/05/61922/index.html