Skating star takes spin through Bay Area; Yamaguchi plans hiatus off the ice

Copyright 2002 The Chronicle Publishing Co.

Bay Area skating superstar Kristi Yamaguchi never dreamed of a life of endless hotel rooms when she was honing her Olympic gold medal-winning art at the Fashion Island ice rink in San Mateo in the 1980s.

Now, at 30, she's ready for a break from the show business whirl, she said.

"But I can't wait to skate at home in the Bay Area," she said. She's returning for a final fling with the powerhouse "Target Stars on Ice Show" at 8 tomorrow at the Arena in Oakland and 4 p.m. Sunday at Compaq Center in San Jose.

"It's my 10th year with the show, and I plan to take a break," said Yamaguchi.

This weekend may be the last chance for a while for local fans to see Yamaguchi and her famous moves.

After the 61-city tour with co-stars and fellow Olympic medalists Tara Lipinski, Katarina Witt and Ilia Kulik, and world champs Kurt Browning, Anjelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsiannikov, all Yamaguchi will bow out of the biggest gig of her professional career.

"It's just that I want some time with my husband, you know, like a life where you feel that you're with family." She's thinking of children, too.

Yamaguchi, who was born in Hayward and raised in Fremont, is married to hockey pro Bret Hedican of the Florida Panthers. She sees him a couple of days a month at their small place in Fort Lauderdale -- "if I'm lucky" -- and off season at their condo in San Francisco or the place they call home in Reno.

"As a pro you see a lot of hotel rooms. After a while it becomes a lifestyle, and for me, it takes me away from Bret and the rest of my family, and from the kind of training I like to do."

Yamaguchi said the rigors of show life and endless rehearsals for the demanding spectacle of the "Stars on Ice" tour have even prevented her from visiting her parents, Carole and Jim Yamaguchi, at home in Fremont, and her brother Brett, who works for the Golden State Warriors. She last visited in October when the 19-year-old family cat, Skittles, died.

The skater's planned hiatus doesn't curb her enthusiasm for "Stars on Ice."

"We've got the top people," she said. "They give it everything for every show."

Unlike some ice shows, whose production numbers are built around stars who spend only a few minutes on the ice, "Stars on Ice" routines put the champs center stage for as long as 20 minutes.

Like most of the ice-skating world, "Stars on Ice" will take a two-week break during next month's Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Yamaguchi will be one of the highly visible former Olympic stars acting as honorary goodwill ambassadors of the 2002 Winter Olympics Salt Lake Organizing Committee, which took months of her time last year.

Yamaguchi will hardly be idle after "Stars on Ice." She wants to spend more time with her Bay Area-based Always Dream Foundation, which raises money for kids' programs. The foundation recently started a pilot Center for Independent Living program for disabled youth in Hawaii.

"I even promised to go camping with the kids," said Yamaguchi. "When they told me it would be in August, I thought, wow, that could be very hot compared to an ice rink."

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ICE SHOW