4th in a series
Kristi Yamaguchi has shared her early lesson in life, to overcome physical limitations through hard work and the spirit to “Always Dream.”
Yamaguchi was born with club feet. Watching her older sister ice skate, she was determined to try, her mother physically supporting her on the ice. Yamaguchi recalls, “I just remember that feeling of freedom.” Ice skating, also, provided an enjoyable exercise to strengthen her feet and ankles. By junior high school, she began competing, her parents agreeing “as long as you keep your grades up and you’re giving it 100 percent.”
She excelled at both singles and pairs, a rare achievement, winning multiple world junior and national championships with partner Rudy Galindo. She followed with individual victories at the 1991 and 1992 World Figure Skating Championships and the 1992 U.S. Nationals. Her 1992 Olympic gold-medal performance—in which she became the first Asian American woman to win a gold medal in any sport—crowned her amateur career.
Following Albertville, Yamaguchi took the professional skating world by storm, winning the World Professional Figure Skating Championship four times between 1992 and 1997, and toured with Stars on Ice for over a decade.
Yamaguchi’s sport and financial successes were not enough to satisfy her childhood dream. In 1996, inspired by the Make-A-Wish foundation, she founded the Always Dream foundation. “All the athletic glory and honors are wonderful but sometimes I come face to face with a disadvantaged child or with a struggling mother or father and I am grateful for my gifts. And I rededicate myself to doing whatever I can to help someone in need. The good feeling I get from contributing rivals anything I felt on the Olympic stand in Albertsville.” Always Dream has focused on building playgrounds which can be accessed and enjoyed by children of all abilities.
To borrow a phrase, the British Empire was built on the playing fields of Eton. This site better explains the central importance of participation in sports to a child’s development as an energetic, constructive citizen. Kristi Yamaguchi says, “Through my Always Dream Foundation, I simply hope to help children fulfill their dreams.” Her example and giving exemplifies more than she gives herself credit.
From Ability, American History (Smithsonian), Always Dream foundation
