| | Current Biography Excerpts: Figure Skating |
 | | Drawing on her superior technical skills, natural poise, and innate musicality, the twenty-year-old Yamaguchi glided past her formidable rivals to reach the zenith of her profession--and to become the first American woman to win the Olympic championship title in figure skating since Dorothy Hamill, in 1976. |
 | | Kristi Yamaguchi's victory was all the sweeter because it came as something of a surprise. |
 | | As recently as 1990, Yamaguchi had not yet won a major United States or international singles competition, but in the eleven months leading up to the 1992 Winter Games, the quietly confident skater blossomed into a performer of such exquisite grace and powerful athleticism that she was without rival among her peers. |
| www.hwwilson.com /currentbio/figuresk.html (982 words) |