Quotes By Kristi Yamaguchi

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.

Training for the Olympics was a lifelong endeavor and took many years.

Figure skaters have awful perceptions of hockey players.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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'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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

As a teenager especially, I just wanted to do my thing and not be noticed.

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'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.

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.

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