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Top 10 Interesting Facts about Kristi Yamaguchi

Kristi Yamaguchi is an American former figure skater. She is a two-time world Champion and became the first Asian American Woman to win a gold medal in a winter Olympic competition. In 2018 Yamaguchi became the Celebrity dance champion in the sixth season of dancing with the stars.

Yamaguchi s talent has won her different awards and medals. She received recognition from all over the world. Some of her awards include the Inspiration Award at the 2008 Asian Excellence Award and the Thurman Munson Award Women Sports Foundation Flo Hyman Award. This article articulates 10 interesting facts about Kristi Yamaguchi.

1 Winning a gold medal

Yamaguchi through figure skating has become a role model to a lot of people all over the world. In 1992 she became the first Asian American Woman to win a gold medal In a winter Olympic competition which was a major international multi-sport event which was held for sports on ice once every four years.

Being the first woman also encouraged young girls they could do anything. In ladies’ singles, Yamaguchi is the 1992 Olympic champion a two-time world champion held annually authorised by the International Skating Union. She was also the winner of the 1992 US Champion and the Celebrity in the sixth season of dancing with stars.

 2 Club foot is where it started

Clubfoot is a birth defect where one or both feet are ratted inwards and downwards. It is the most common congenital malfunction of the foot among newborns. Yamaguchi began skating and taking ballet lessons when she was still a child, this was to act as physical therapy for her club feet. Her doctor agreed that it would help strengthen her muscles.

She would later become a star claiming the first major international gold medal in figure skating at the 1990 God will games which was the second edition of the international multi-sport event created by Ted Turner. Yamaguchi would grow on to win different awards, recognitions and medals for her talent in figure skating.

3 She was homeschooled

Kristi Yamaguchi was born to Jim Yamaguchi who was a dentist by profession and Carole a medical secretary. Kristi had siblings named Brett and Lori. They grew up in Fremont California. Kristi was homeschooled for the first two years of high school, this was to accommodate her training schedules.

She later on joined Mission San Jose High School, one of five comprehensive high schools in the Fremont Unified District. She was able to study her junior and senior years there and later on graduated.

4 Her descent is of wakamaya and saga in Japan

Yamaguchi鈥檚 heritage can be traced to the wakamaya and Saga in Japan. His paternal grandfather Tatsuichi Yamaguchi immigrated to Hawaii in 1998 and finally moved to the United States a few years later. He struggled to live in the harsh changing environment of the immigrants but was able to neutralize just five years before his death.

Kristi’s maternal grandfather George Akira Doi served in the 100^th Infantry Division, an otherwise all-white unit. He saw Combat in Europe and was decorated as unquestionably the best soldier.

5 She worked with Galindo

Yamaguchi at some point worked with Rudy Galindo who is another accomplished figure skater. Their union was one of a kind since both of them were already accomplished figure skaters and so together they were able to do too difficult flips including side-by-side triple flip jumps which are currently difficult for top pairs.

Yamaguchi and Galindo won the seniors pair title at the U.S Championships. They won the same title again in the year 1990. Later in their careers, Yamaguchi decided to focus on singles and Galindo moved forward also with his successful career winning the 1996 US Championship

6 She is versatile

She is not only an Olympic Hero but also an entrepreneur. After winning gold In 1992 she created women鈥檚 active wear. The cloth line is known as Tsuya by Kristi Yamaguchi. Some of the profit from the cloth line goes to support early childhood literacy at Always dream big foundation.

Yamaguchi is also a talented actor who has appeared in movies like D2: The Mighty Duck and Go Figure. After her retirement she performed in touring shows including Stars on Ice and One Offs, she continued to compete in professional competitions perform in touring shows. She also appeared in movies like the Disney special Aladine on ice in which she played princess Jasmin

7 She is an accomplished writer

Yamaguchi has blown people’s minds with her many abilities but one that stands out is that she is an accomplished author who is great at what she does. One of her books became a best-seller after publication. She is indeed an inspiration to many proudly showcasing the strength of a woman and actively fighting to change society through books.

She is a writer of various books including 鈥淔igure skating for dummies鈥� and 鈥渁lways dream big鈥�. Always dream big is an inspirational book for children. Yamaguchi encourages kids to read. Her first children鈥檚 book was published and it became number 2 on New York best seller list, the title of the book was 鈥淒ream Big Little Pig鈥�. It has a sequel called it’s 鈥淏ig world, little pig鈥� which followed a year later. In 2016 she wrote “Caras Kindness鈥�

8 She is the founder of always dream foundation

In 1996 the famous figure skater founded the always dream foundation. The main aim of this foundation is to promote childhood literacy. Yamaguchi is so passionate about young kids having a chance to get an education. In an interview with USA Today, she said that statistics showcase 60 per cent of poor families have no children鈥檚 book at home and so this inspired her to start the foundation.

Yamaguchi insists that the foundation’s main aim is to provide access to quality books and pair that with family engagement and support. The program has partnered with raising a leader to launch a reading program in schools throughout California.

9 She is married to Bret Hedican

Yamaguchi met her current husband, Bret Hedican in the 1992 Olympics Winter games in which both of them were members of the US Olympics team. Bret Hedican is a former professional ice hockey player who made his NHL appearance in the 1991-1992 season with the blues.

The couple is blessed with two beautiful daughters. The eldest is Keara 19 years old, followed by Emma, 17 years old. Emma is an apple that didn’t fall far from the tree because she has followed her mom’s footsteps into skating. They have been seen together in the eyes several times.

10 She is in the Hall of Fame

Indeed hard work is never gone unnoticed. Yamaguchi鈥檚 skills in figure skating and her many achievements in the same sport won her a place in the Hall of fame. She was able to finish second in the 1991 American nationals but won the world title that year.

Before reaching the hall of fame Yamaguchi鈥檚 passion began at an early age and indeed through hard work and dedication she was able to achieve her goals. She confesses to being so obsessed with skating that her favourite toy was a Dorothy Hamill doll which she carried everywhere.