YAMAGUCHI, KRISTI

born July 12, 1971, Hayward, Calif., U.S. American figure skater who in 1992 won the U.S. national championship, the Olympic gold medal, and the world championship. She was highly regarded for programs that balanced athleticism with artistry. Yamaguchi, who overcame severely clubbed feet as an infant, first became interested in figure skating while watching American Dorothy Hamill win an Olympic gold medal in 1976. Yamaguchi began taking skating lessons that year, and she took part in her first competition three years later. In 1988 she won gold medals in both the pairs competition (with Rudy Galindo) and the singles event at the world junior championships. She gained worldwide attention in 1989 when she placed second in the singles event and with Galindo placed first in the pairs event to become the first American to win medals in two events at the national championships in more than 35 years. After repeating the feat in 1990, she decided to concentrate solely on singles competition and, in 1991, won the world championship. Yamaguchi became the U.S. figure-skating champion in 1992, a title that earned her a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, she skated a flawless short program and a long program that included five triples and only one minor glitch. Later that year she won her second world championship. At 21, she turned professional, performing in live and televised ice shows.