ice skater
...oes when she was older. Her mother encouraged her to take up dancing and skating to strengthen her legs. Dorothy Hamill's 1972 Olympic Gold Medal set Kristi's mind and future to the ice. By 1987, Kristi was good enough to capture two International Junior titles at first place as a member of the United States Olympic Festival team. At the 1988 World Junior Championship, she gained gold medals in both the ladies singles division and the pairs division. (Between 1987 and 1992, Kristi scored fourteen first place positions in twenty~one international events.) In early 1988 she made back~of~the~book "Faces in the Crowd" section with a postage~stamp portrait. (Almost exactly four years later, she smiled from the cover of Sports Illustrated, flashing her gold souvenir of Albertville.) The Women's Sport Foundation named her "Up~and~Coming Artistic Athlete of the Week." ABC Telivision twice selected her "Athlete of the Week." Kristi Yamaguchi competed in twent~one events. So far she...