Widely praised as incomparably elegant and graceful for her prowess on the ice, professional skater Kristi Yamaguchi began to make headlines in 1989. That year, the 4'11," then-82 lb. 17-year-old defeated rival Jill_Trenary at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and subsequently scored a victory in the pairs competition alongside skating partner Rudi_Galindo. The Fremont, CA, native (reportedly born with two club feet) subsequently won the Olympic gold medal in her sport at the 1992 Winter Olympics. Yamaguchi remained active and visible as a skater over the following two decades, but also entered the limelight in a slightly different capacity, as a television dancer in 2008. That year, the producers of the competitive reality series Dancing with the Stars tapped the skater to perform on their program opposite Mark_Ballas. Nathan Southern, Rovi

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