Top 45 Quotes & Sayings by Kristi Yamaguchi

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American athlete Kristi Yamaguchi.
Last updated on December 25, 2024.
Kristi Yamaguchi

Kristine Tsuya Yamaguchi is an American former figure skater. In ladies' singles, Yamaguchi is the 1992 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion, and the 1992 U.S. champion. In 1992, she became the first Asian American woman to win a gold medal in a Winter Olympic competition. As a pairs skater with Rudy Galindo, she is the 1988 World Junior champion and a two-time national champion. In December 2005, she was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. In 2008, Yamaguchi became the celebrity champion in the sixth season of Dancing with the Stars.

I always try to start out with some type of goal. Then I work backward and think of what I need to do to get there, and give myself smaller goals that are more immediate.
This experience has been once in a lifetime.
Figure skaters have awful perceptions of hockey players. — © Kristi Yamaguchi
Figure skaters have awful perceptions of hockey players.
I didn't want to skate for someone else or for certain marks.
I don't mind the sparkle - I think it's kind of a tradition in skating. I don't think the men really need sparkles, but for the women it's part of the glamour of our sport.
I learned to put 100 percent into what you're doing. I learned about setting goals for yourself, knowing where you want to be and taking small steps toward those goals. I learned about adversity and how to get past it.
Growing up as an athlete, I started skating very young. My parents didn't know anything about the sport, so they went with the flow. I had two great coaches who gave great advice and gave guidelines for my parents. My parents let the coaches dictate what was going on on the ice.
My experience at the 1992 Winter Olympics was my fulfillment of dreaming the Impossible Dream.
I'd try to channel my nervous energy in a positive way into strength and endurance. It didn't always work.
I've realized how precious life is. When I was younger, I was more adventurous. I felt invincible. I was game for everything. As a mom, I don't want to get injured because then I can't take care of my kids.
Training for the Olympics was a lifelong endeavor and took many years.
With 30,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations from the seasonal flu, those numbers are certainly higher than what we've seen of the swine flu. Protecting yourself from both viruses is very important.
At 6 years old, the ice became a place for me to express myself. Because I was so shy off the ice, it became my safe haven, with music and freedom and self-expression. That was my emotional outlet.
I burnt myself out of skating. I was ready to focus on being a mom. — © Kristi Yamaguchi
I burnt myself out of skating. I was ready to focus on being a mom.
The past couple years training with Kurt have really brought inspiration into my skating.
Being an athlete, you know how to train and prepare your body for a performance and you're able to do it under pressure.
One of my mottos not only just in skating but in life in general and I try to enforce it as well, is like no regrets and just like going for it.
Winning in women's singles felt surreal. I felt that everything I had done - the hard work, the tough times - was all worth it.
I don't know how many people really knew who I was before the Olympics and that's the fun thing of the Olympics - you get to know someone who captures your heart, hopefully.
The good feeling I get from contributing rivals anything I felt on the Olympic stand in Albertville.
As a teenager especially, I just wanted to do my thing and not be noticed.
As a professional, I think we're not being judged solely on technical ability anymore. People really want to be entertained and enjoy what they're watching.
There are two or three performances in your life that are absolutely on, where all the planets are lined up for you and you feel you're invincible.
I've always worked closely with the designers and whoever's making the costumes. Comfort is the last thing you want on your mind when you're competing. In an ideal situation, you'll have something where you'll put it on and you're fine and you don't have to worry about it at all.
Having achieved my own dreams, I want to give to kids who are less fortunate, who struggle with everyday obstacles. I want to give them something positive in their lives: support.
In terms of my career, having the gold definitely changed my life. The Olympics are different, you know? They're every four years and it's such a small group.
Before turning pro, I would never have just left my skates sitting in the locker room unattended.
I'm always looking for inspiring ways to stay motivated and stay active.
Childhood reading is so important.
I never wanted to feel I hadn't worked hard enough.
I'm kind of a homebody. My husband says I like to just stay home and do nothing, but that's just how I am. — © Kristi Yamaguchi
I'm kind of a homebody. My husband says I like to just stay home and do nothing, but that's just how I am.
They say, once you have a child, your heart is forever outside your body. I totally understand that now.
Dorothy Hamill was my big idol as a kid. She'd won the Olympics in 1976. She was America's sweetheart with her personality, her talent, her haircut.
Now, I am thrilled to be a wife and mother, and I hope to be as good of a mother as my own mother, Carole.
I've had a lot more fun with the training.
Probably a few weeks after I was born I started having casts put on my legs to straighten them out. After that corrective shoes and with a brace in between.
Skating was something I really wanted to do; my parents knew nothing about it. They said they'd support me as long as I was trying my hardest and enjoying it.
The skaters a lot of times do their own hair and makeup before they compete. That was always kind of a ritual...that calming, quiet time where you can just do your hair and makeup. And then I would always lace up my right skate before my left one.
I feel like I missed out on the regular high school social life, but that's the way I chose to be.
Everything that happened in '92 was more than I had dreamed of... winning the U.S. title for the first time and then doing so well at the Olympics... It seemed to wrap things up so perfectly. I couldn't help thinking, 'How could I top that?'
An athlete gains so much knowledge by just participating in a sport. Focus, discipline, hard work, goal setting and, of course, the thrill of finally achieving your goals. These are all lessons in life.
Searching for funds to continue my skating career when I was 17, I called the Women's Sports Foundation in New York. The intern who answered the phone suggested that I might be a great candidate for the Travel and Training fund, and she sent me an application form. I applied for a grant. With the funds I was awarded, I bought a new pair of skates and a plane ticket to the 1988 National Championships, where I achieved my highest national finish. Four years later, I won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games.
Every day, someone realizes a dream. I believe dreams help light our darkness and give us the push we need to move across the rink of life. — © Kristi Yamaguchi
Every day, someone realizes a dream. I believe dreams help light our darkness and give us the push we need to move across the rink of life.
I always try to start out with some type of goal. Then I work backward and think of what I need to do to get there, and give myself smaller goals that are more immediate
Once you have a child, your heart is forever outside your body. I totally understand that now.
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