From: vs55212@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Venus Sinn )
Subject: Yamaguchi's news!!
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1992 04:26:23 GMT


From Chicago Tribune December 13 1992:

	Kristi Yamaguchi in vogue?  And in Vogue?
	Shy, demure, ponytailed Kristi, in a pose with her hair blown fetchinglyoff one shoulder and her hands boldly on the hips of a shiny, coppertoned mini-
skirt?  Kristi copping an attitude?
	That is how the 1992 Olympic gold medalist appeared in the November 
Vogue, in an advertisement meant to show off what could be fashioned with       fabrics manufactured by one of the companies she is paid to endorse.
	What the first two pages of the striking four-page ad showed even more  clearly was the change fashioned in Yamaguchi over the nine months since she 
won the women's figure skating title in Albertville, France.
	The first picture is of Yamaguchi spinning thru- her Olympic program
in a modest skating costume.  The second is of her confronting the camera in
metallic acetate.
	The same alluring attitude is evident in two of the numbers Yamaguchi
performs in the Discover Card Stars on Ice tour that plays the Rosemont Horizon
January 22.  One has her wearing a glitzy, low-cut camisole and scarlet tights  while vamping to "My Lovin," by the group-appropriately-En Vogue.
	"I'm kind of shy," Yamaguchi said.  "This is a chance for me to try 
something new.  As a figure skater, you never think of being in a fashion
magazine, especially the size I am [5 feet, 95 pounds] against all those 6 foot
models."
	The one place where Yamaguchi makes her professional competitive debut
in Saturday's WorldProfessional Figure Skating Championships at Landover, Md.,
she will immediately become ineligbe for the 1994 Winter Olympics.  To regain 
eligibility, she must apply for reinstatement by April 1.
	Under current rules, a skater can apply for reinstatement only once.
It would last as long as the skater adheres to the terms of the reinstatement 
deal, which include competing only in sanctioned events and funneling income 
thru- a trust fund.
	Five percent of that income then goes to the U.S. Figure Skating Asso.
Memorial Fund, a source of athlete support.
	Yamaguchi will make an estimated $1 million in both 1992 and 1993.  Thatincludes her contracts from ice shows and the Dick Button-promoted pro
competitions and product endorsements.
	She has deals with Hoecht Celanese fibers abd DuraSoft contact lenses.
Another endorsemen, with a toy company (A Kristi Yamaguchi doll?  After all, as
a child, she carried a Dorothy Hamill doll) is to be announced early next year.
	So much for those who thought that a Japa-bashing mood in the US might
prevent the Japanese-American Yamaguchi from getting any endorsements.
	"At the time that was being said, I didn't think it would affect me, andlooking back now, I don't think it has," Yamaguchi said.
	SHe has traded the rewards of fame for one big house in Reno close to   the ski slopes at Lake Tahoe, Nev.  For now, the house will be used by her      family, because Yamaguchi's life has been a whirl since the Olympics.
	"Right now, it's hard to think of going back to compete agai [in Olympic-style events]," Yamaguchi said.  "Albertville was such a positive experience
for me, it would be hard to top that."
	Yamaguchi would not say which way she was leaning, although someone 
reading between the lines of her remarks would probably say she will not go     after another gold medal.  Many people, notably her parents, worry about a      defect that might tarnish her gilded reputation.
	That is why she has also considered a return to Olympic-style           competition in pairs.
	Yamaguchi gave up pairs skating to concentrate on singles after having
won the 1989 and 1990 US titles and finishing fifth in the world those years
with partner Rudi Galinddo.  She would not team with him again.
	"I would love to find another partner and see how far I go," she said.
"Having nothing to lose is part of it, since as a pairs skater I would not have big expectations on me.  But it's probably too late to do it for 1994 Olympics."	Given Yamaguchi's tremendous talent and the level of the likely 
competition, she probably could win the singles title at the next Olympics with
a less difficult program than what was necessary to beat Japan's Midori Ito in
Albertville.  She would not, as previously felt, need to master the triple Axel
jump to be assured of another victory.
	The major sacrafice involved would be freedom.  To regain total 
confidence with which Yamaguchi skated in 1992, she would have to return to an
intensive, relentless practice schedule.
	"This year has been hard, because I haven't had a normal training 
schedule," she said.  "Going out and performing the triples, I don't have the   same secure feeling."
	Yet her programs, both for the competitions and the ice show, contain
four of the five triples she did a year ago.  The only one missing is the 
nemesis triple Salchow.
	"I've only been preparing for this about 10 days, and I'm used to havinga month to prepare for a competition," Yamaguchi said of Saturday's event, whichwill be televised in January.  "I do feel a little bit of pressure, even if it
is a mostly new experience."
	She has clearly mastered one verbal trick of the professional trade.
Yamaguchi faithfully attaches the sponsor's name to the skating events with
which she is associated.

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