蜜桃影视

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Gold medal figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi knows about competition. After her 1992 Olympics triumph, she toured professionally for more than 10 years, handling nightly performances all over the world, often without enough sleep. It took a 3-year-old to almost bring her to her knees.

鈥淲e were in the car,鈥� Yamaguchi recalls. 鈥淢y older daughter was having one of her toddler moments and just wouldn’t calm down and wouldn’t accept my explanation of why we were doing what we were doing. I kept warning her, 鈥榊ou need to stop. We can’t listen to this in the car. You’re screaming.鈥欌��

And yet the 鈥渢oddler moment鈥� continued. That鈥檚 when Mom got tough: 鈥淔inally I said, 鈥業f you’re going to keep screaming, you鈥檙e going to have to get out of the car.鈥� And kids will just test you, right? So I pulled over to the side, and she kind of looked at me, gave that look of, Wait, what? What are you doing? And I said, 鈥業 told you, you need to stop or you have to get out the car.鈥欌��

There was no audience or television cameras to capture this showdown, but according to Yamaguchi, her daughter stopped crying and remained quiet the rest of the trip. 鈥淚 called her bluff,鈥� Yamaguchi says, acknowledging that this victory was bittersweet. 鈥淚t was really hard,鈥� she admits, 鈥渂ecause obviously I was not going to let her get out of the car. Sometimes that tough love is hard for us to do, but it has an effect.鈥�

Now that her daughters are 18 and 16, Yamaguchi is philosophical about the challenges of parenting toddlers. 鈥淵ou think you have it figured out with the first kid,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd the second one comes along who is totally different and needs a totally different approach to however you parented the first one. You’re just constantly adjusting and always feeling like you’re trying to figure things out.鈥�

As the 2022 Winter Olympics get under way, Yamaguchi鈥檚 1992 accomplishment continues to reverberate 鈥� especially, perhaps, for Asian American women. Artist and speaker Philippa Hughes says, 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have many role models back then. [TV journalist] Connie Chung was around, but she was behind a desk. Yamaguchi was so powerful and artistic.鈥�

Five insights emerged from my conversation with Yamaguchi:

1. Family 鈥� and family history 鈥� set the stage. During World War II, the U.S. interned Japanese Americans on the suspicion that they might be working for the enemy. Both of the skater鈥檚 parents were interned with their families 鈥� her mom in in Amache, Colorado, while her father , fighting alongside white soldiers in Germany and France. (Discover the online exhibit .) 鈥淲e would hear snippets here and there,鈥� Yamaguchi recalls, 鈥渂ut it wasn’t something that was often talked about, especially when my grandparents were alive. It was really the later generations that really started to ask more questions about it, learn about it and want to tell that story more.鈥� Reflecting on this episode in American history, she says she鈥檚 in awe of the Japanese Americans who endured it 鈥� and grateful for their sacrifice. 鈥淚t’s hard to fathom how they felt, and how were able to move forward with their lives without some bitterness.鈥�

2. Follow your idols, and you might just become one. When Yamaguchi started skating at 6 years old, she worshipped Dorothy Hamill and used to perch a Dorothy doll at the edge of the rink to watch her twirl on the ice. In 1992, at age 20, she became the first American woman鈥檚 figure skater to win Olympic gold since Hamill in 1976. These days, the former idolizer is the idol (not to mention a 2008 Dancing with the Stars champion). Chief among her fans is Olympian Karen Chen, who, like Yamaguchi, hails from Fremont, Calif. 鈥淲e share the same hometown,鈥� Yamaguchi says, 鈥淎nd so there’s always been a special relationship. I met her when she was 12 and have been just a huge fan of hers since then.鈥�

3. Mentors and coaches guide you in and out of the rink. From the start of her skating career, Bay Area skaters took Yamaguchi under their wing. She describes Brian Boitano, whose Olympic moment came in 1988, as a huge mentor. 鈥淗e was so encouraging and a very positive role model,鈥� she says. Of Christy Ness, her coach from the age of 9 years old, Yamaguchi says, 鈥淪he was probably one of the most influential people in my life, besides my parents. That relationship goes way beyond skating. There were so many lessons she taught me that I鈥檝e carried with me.鈥�

4. Athletics are about the head as much as the body. Yamaguchi will never forget the intensity of training with Ness. 鈥淥bviously,鈥� she says, 鈥渋t is imperative for success to be able to be prepared, put the training in.鈥� Dealing with pressure from fans, competition and the media was just as important.

鈥淐hristy did not cut us any slack in practice and even created pressure-filled situations in practice even so that we could push ourselves and then realize, Okay, if I can get through my program with that amount of nervousness and practice, I could do it in competition.鈥� This degree of preparation also counted after the Olympics, in the face of attention and acclaim far beyond what most 20-year-olds ever experience.听

5. Giving back is an obligation. I鈥檓 so grateful for the opportunities I’ve had,鈥� Yamaguchi says, adding that her mom always used to ask her about giving back. She took up this challenge as soon as her career allowed it, on a tour with Stars on Ice, which benefited the Make-A-Wish Foundation. 鈥淚t was the first time I had worked hands-on with a nonprofit, and it was completely eye-opening for me,鈥� she recalls, 鈥渁nd it gave me feeling of purpose and of doing something beyond just focusing on my own career.鈥�

Yamaguchi launched in 1997. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the organization provides age-appropriate books and reading technology, along with family engagement support to create literacy-rich home environments. She recalls a dad who raised his hand at a recent event, describing how his five-year-old son had never previously gotten into books, but the Always Dream tablet with e-books changed everything. Especially the one about the moon. 鈥淭he dad was just so proud,鈥� Yamaguchi says, 鈥渁nd now his son wants to be an astronaut. Books are the gateway to anything your imagination can dream up.鈥�

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on 蜜桃影视. Learn more here.