Catching Up With Kristi

Copyright 2001 The Examiner

Olympic gold medallist and Pacific Heights resident Kristi Yamaguchi appears in "Stars on Ice" this Friday at the Oakland Arena. One of the country's most beloved female athletes, Yamaguchi was born in Hayward and grew up in the Bay Area before training in Canada; she now divides her time between San Francisco and Reno, Nevada. She turned professional in 1992 after capturing Olympic gold in Albertville, France, and successfully defending her World Championship title in Oakland.

This year's "Stars on Ice" pays tribute to retiring skater Scott Hamilton and features Tara Linpinski, Kurt Browning, Yuka Sato, and others. The San Francisco Examiner recently caught up with Yamaguchi at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on Nob Hill. Tickets to "Stars on Ice" are available by calling (877) 99-BLADE, or visit www.starsonice.com.

You were born in Hayward and grew up in the Bay Area, and after you won gold in the Olympics in 1992 you came back to Oakland and defended your World Championship title there. How nostalgic do you feel about returning to the same arena?

I always love coming back to skate in the Bay Area because it's the hometown crowd and there are a lot of great memories and I have a lot of family and friends who come to the show. I always get a little bit more nervous.

That whole period in 1992 was a thrilling time and I definitely remember the World Championships. I was still riding so high off the Olympics that it was a fun competition. It's a little different now. The show is different every year and the pressure's different. I want to go out there and perform well.

Your family is in Fremont now, so they'll all be coming out in droves to see you?

It's just my mom and dad and brother, and my sister and her husband live in the city as well, and some cousins in San Jose. A lot of friends and family friends.

Why did you decide to buy a home in Pacific Heights?

Being on the road I never felt grounded. I was living out of my suitcase and I wanted a place to come back to every once in a while. It's five minutes from where my sister lives and we're really close. And I love the city, I love San Francisco and I want to come back here every once in a while.

You turned pro eight years ago now and you were once quoted saying that you liked going pro because you got to experiment with costumes, music, and choreography. How much input do you get into the show?

In our individual numbers, most of the skaters will come in with a particular number they've been working on and hopefully the director will put it in the show. We have a say on the costumes and the music and even how it's lighted. For the ensemble numbers we're at the mercy of the director and what she wants, which is fine because we trust her.

I do whatever piece of music grabs me, from classical to contemporary to whatever's on the hit list at the moment. This year one of my pieces is to "Desert Rose," by Sting, and we used the dance mix version. It's kind of an exotic piece I've never done before. And my second-half number is a Dixie Chicks number.

How do you feel your skating now stacks up against your skating at the Olympics?

Creatively and artistically I've definitely grown as a performer. Technically I try to keep up as well as I can but I don't have the preparation time I did for the Olympics, obviously. Priorities change and living on the road doesn't help with that. But as an overall performer my goal is to continue to grow every year.

You're training here now?

Yes, in downtown Oakland, in the Oakland Ice Center. My coach is there and whenever I'm in town I spend as much time as possible with her.

How often does that happen for you?

It's tough. I just got married last summer, so summers are split between Minnesota and here. I skate out there quite a bit as well and then in the fall the tour starts and you're rehearsing and traveling a lot.

You've got your own charity now, the Always Dream Foundation. Do you feel interests like that are drawing you away from the ice?

A little bit. It's certainly something I want to continue to do even when my career is over on the ice. I was really excited to work with the Make a Wish Foundation. You see there's such a need out there and I get so much fulfillment out of it that eventually I'll spend more time on that and less on the road.

How do you spend your free time around the city?

My husband and I definitely try to check out all the local restaurants, whatever seems to be the hot one at the moment.

You probably don't have a lot of time for that kind of thing.

I usually come home and take care of housekeeping things, go to the doctor, do this, do that, take care of business matters.

How close are you to people like Scott Hamilton and Tara Linpinski?

It's a very close group. Scott often refers to us as his family and I feel the same. We travel together September through April, nonstop in each other's face, so it's a tight group. We've experienced all the ups and downs in life together.

The year you were competing for the Olympic gold everyone was trying to land the triple axel.

For years I worked on the triple axel and kept falling and falling and falling and never being able to land it. And that Olympic year when I said OK, it's not going into the number, I can't land it. But Midori Ito and Tanya Harding were. And everyone was saying whoever lands the triple axel is going to win the Olympics. And I said fine, if they want to think that way, but I'll just work on my strengths and do the best I can and maybe it will be enough.

Skating is a subjective sport and the only way you'll get enjoyment out of it is knowing you've done all you can do.

Have you landed any triple axels since?

No I haven't, but Kurt Browning and Ilia Kulik are popping them off like they're nothing and it looks so much fun. And I'm sitting there going, maybe I should try these again. Because they make them look so easy but they're not.

Do you have any advice for young skaters in the area?