US Figure Skating Star Returns Canada with "Stars On Ice"

Copyright 2002 CTV Television, Inc.

ANCHOR: Rod Black

GUEST: Kristi Yamaguchi, Figure Skater, "Stars On Ice"

BLACK: Olympic gold medallist, world figure skating champion Kristi Yamaguchi, I haven't seen her in a few years. She just told me how old she was. She is the best-looking 30-year-old!

Sorry, I didn't mean to say that.

YAMAGUCHI: No, it's okay.

BLACK: You are here for Stars On Ice. And getting a chance to be back in Canada. Because a lot of people know you as an American skating champion. But the people who know skating will also know that you honed your craft in Canada, in Edmonton.

YAMAGUCHI: Yeah, I lived in Edmonton for five years, training for the Olympics. So, I have a lot of friends here. And it's great to be back. The Canadian skating crowds are the best.

BLACK: We're going to talk about skating in a few moments after the commercial break. You are in our kitchen area. Do you know that Jennifer Robinson is actually going to be here later? This will be like a little reunion for you. We'll have to find that out for sure, but Jennifer got turned onto skating by watching Stars On Ice. A long, long time ago.

YAMAGUCHI: Really?

BLACK: She is bringing her mom today. So, her mom is going to cook with her, a little Mother's Day thing happening. And your husband is playing in the NHL playoffs, by the way.

YAMAGUCHI: Right. He's getting beat up right now. [laughs]

BLACK: Bret Hedican, who will be going to Montreal with the Carolina Hurricanes. You haven't seen each other very --

YAMAGUCHI: No, we're both working pretty hard right now. But I'm on tour just another week so, hopefully, we'll get some time --

BLACK: You don't want to do a cooking segment, do you?

YAMAGUCHI: [laughs] You don't want my cooking, that's for sure.

BLACK: [laughs] We will be back in a moment to talk skating with American skating star Kristi Yamaguchi on Canada AM.[commercial break]

BLACK: She is a legend. Olympic gold medallist, world figure skating champion a couple of times, Kristi Yamaguchi is known worldwide for skating excellence and that magic on ice. Currently on tour in Canada with Stars On Ice where fans can get a glimpse of Kristi emotion.

That is a little different from the Kristi Yamaguchi I remember broadcasting a few years ago. You have grown up, girl.

YAMAGUCHI: Yeah. You know, you've got to do different things now and then. And Janet Jackson has been a huge idol of mine. So it's kind of fun to finally do a piece with her singing.

BLACK: How different is that? It has been a while, again, since '92 after the Olympic gold when you decided to turn pro. And there have been a lot of American skating stars -- I want to talk about that in a moment -- who have followed. But to move from trying to skate for gold to trying to skate for a crowd. How different is that?

YAMAGUCHI: Oh, it's a lot different. You think that after the Olympics, oh, you're just going to breeze through everything, nothing can be as hard as preparing for the Olympics. But it's a different life. You really have to get used to living on the road, travelling, being up for 80 performances a year versus five or six. So it's a lot different. And I think the pressure is different, too. You are not trying to win a gold medal but you are trying to kind of live up to what the audience wants to see.

BLACK: You kind of got out at an interesting time, though, didn't you? Because the skating boom was just really, really starting. And then it exploded. Everybody in skating obviously knew who you were, but the television that came soon after you retired, the Harding-Kerrigan fiasco. I still remember that picture, I think at the American national championships, with you on the podium with Nancy and Tonya.

YAMAGUCHI: Mm-hm.

BLACK: That was a few years ago. And then the judging controversies. And everything that's happened since that time. But could you have imagined from retirement to now the changes within skating?

YAMAGUCHI: No. Yeah, so much as happened in ten years. The system is completely different. People ask me about the judging and this and that. And even what the skaters are going through. And, you know what? It is so much different now. We were truly amateurs when I competed back in '92. We didn't really make any money, but anything we did make went into a trust fund, we couldn't touch it. Now they basically are professionals competing, but just still compete under the International Skating Union rules. So that is pretty much the only thing that separates the skaters these days.

BLACK: It is still subjective, though. And I'm sure you were the victim of a bad judging error or you have seen some bad judging in your time. But do you think that money had a lot to do with it, perhaps? The changes, and everything that has gone on?

YAMAGUCHI: It probably is a part of a lot of the changes. The sport has obviously grown. And, you know, recognize that it has a lot more opportunities on television. And it's great. I mean, it has helped the sport grow and reach more people. But it definitely changes it.

BLACK: What amazes me about skating is how, and it's interesting, how you guys, the skaters, are treated like Hollywood stars, like movie stars.

YAMAGUCHI: In Canada anyway. [laughs]

BLACK: But everybody knows your life, you know. Everybody knows that you were married to Bret Hedican, everybody knows what you do away from the ice, everybody knows that Elvis Stojko likes to ride motocross bikes. Has it made for some discomfort in your life? Or do you like when someone comes up to and says, "Hey, Kristi Yamaguchi, can I have your autograph?"

YAMAGUCHI: Oh, I think the fans in skating have been amazing. They are very supportive. And they watch skating because they like it. So, of course, they're going to be nice to us.

BLACK: It is not like they boo a goalie, or anything.

YAMAGUCHI: Right, right. If you lose, they're like, "It's okay."

BLACK: They only boo the judges.

YAMAGUCHI: Right, right. So it's been nice. I mean, I think most skaters can pretty much go around and do what they want. But, sure, it's nice when people recognize you here and there.

BLACK: But Stars On Ice, like Kurt Browning and all of your old buddies, Isabelle and Lloyd, Brasseur and Eisler, and I know you're making this Canadian tour. What has the reaction been to the new show?

YAMAGUCHI: It's been incredible. I mean, I haven't toured in Canada for about five years. So it's amazing to get in front of Canadian audiences again, feel the energy, and tour with Isabelle and Lloyd. I haven't seen them in so many years. And they are great friends. So it's nice to spend some time with them. And, Kurt, obviously I toured with in the US too. But it's fun. The reception that the Canadian audiences give is like no other place. So, it's really incredible.

BLACK: It's interesting, I want to talk about the men for just a second. Alexei Yagudin is part of the show. Kurt Browning. And I know that Scott Hamilton -- I kind of think of those three guys has been our era of the great skaters. And it must be interesting with Yagudin and Kurt Browning in the same show.

YAMAGUCHI: It's great. You know, it's always fun to see young blood join the tour and add a different dimension to it. And Alexei, he's been great. He is so hard-working. He's eager to learn, be a part of the group. And it's a breath of fresh air. And it is fun to see the two different generations. You know, Kurt, a seasoned professional kind of showing the ropes to Alexei. It's fun.

BLACK: Why have the Americans produced so many great women's champions? It's like you reel each other in. Nancy Kerrigan, to Tara Lipinski, to Michelle Kwan, and it goes back to Peggy Fleming and Dorothy Hamill. Why?

YAMAGUCHI: I don't know. I mean, actually there have been only seven Olympic gold medallists now from the US, in women. I don't know. I think maybe they see an Olympic champion, get inspired, little girls take up the sport. And the big talent pool, I guess.

BLACK: Who were you inspired by?

YAMAGUCHI: Dorothy Hamill. I mean, she's the big reason I started up skating. You know, eventually I looked up to other idols as well. But she definitely inspired me.

BLACK: What is Edmonton going to be like when you get there? Are you going to visit Royal Glenora?

YAMAGUCHI: I don't know if we're going to have time. We're they're literally just for the show, the day of the show. But I definitely want to get in touch with some people back in Edmonton, see if they want to come to the show. And they were just amazing when I trained there. You know, they took me in as one of their own. So, it will be neat to go back to Edmonton.

BLACK: Well, you are an amazing athlete. Continued success skating with Stars On Ice. Welcome back to Canada.

YAMAGUCHI: Thank you. It's great to be here.

BLACK: And good luck to your hubby in the Stanley Cup playoffs.