Yamaguchi was born in 1971 in Hayward, California, with bilateral clubfoot, a birth defect which causes both feet to twist out of their usual position.
"The braces hurt my legs a lot, and I remember trying to walk with a bar in between my feet — I had to shuffle," Yamaguchi continued. "I was lucky they corrected it when I was so young. Skating wasn't assigned to me, but when I wanted to skate, the doctors said it would help."
"I remember seeing Peggy Fleming and Dorothy Hamill and wanting to capture the magic of those shows," she explained.
It was no surprise to figure skating fans when Yamaguchi ended up at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, on the same U.S. team as Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. While Yamaguchi's competitors, including Harding and Japan's Midori Ito, were known for their ability to land extremely difficult jumps (namely the triple Axel), Yamaguchi had a reputation for being a more well-rounded skater who focused on artistry. Her strategy proved to be a winning one when she made history that year as the first Asian American woman to win gold at the Winter Olympics...though the significance of the moment didn't fully hit her at first.
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Though Yamaguchi retired from competing not long after winning the gold medal, she didn't stop skating. She toured with Stars on Ice for over a decade, going on to be inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1998, the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1999 and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2005.
"I think it’s harder nowadays because of social media, with how accessible the athletes are and anyone in the spotlight is these days," she said. "We were pretty insulated back in the ’90s, though the traditional press was overwhelming. Still, I can’t imagine nowadays. You see a lot of athletes building their social media presence and getting endorsements and sponsorships, which is great because that helps offset some of the training expenses and things like that. But they have a lot more to deal with in this day and age."
Related: 1988 Olympic Skating Legends, Paired as Teenagers, Became Figure Skating's Greatest Love Story
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