Quotes By Kristi Yamaguchi

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.

They say, once you have a child, your heart is forever outside your body. I totally understand that now.

Before turning pro, I would never have just left my skates sitting in the locker room unattended.

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.

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.

Childhood reading is so important.

My experience at the 1992 Winter Olympics was my fulfillment of dreaming the Impossible Dream.

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've had a lot more fun with the training.

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.

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.

I burnt myself out of skating. I was ready to focus on being a mom.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This experience has been once in a lifetime.

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.

The past couple years training with Kurt have really brought inspiration into my skating.

The good feeling I get from contributing rivals anything I felt on the Olympic stand in Albertville.

I'm always looking for inspiring ways to stay motivated and stay active.

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.

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.

I never wanted to feel I hadn't worked hard enough.

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.

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.

I didn't want to skate for someone else or for certain marks.

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.

Being an athlete, you know how to train and prepare your body for a performance and you're able to do it under pressure.

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.