Kristi Yamaguchi & Rudi Galindo - 1989 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Pairs' Free Skate

[@queenmaoasada8447]

I didn't realize she was this accomplished in pairs as well... This girl was something else!!!

[@thangvuong9196]

Jules Mekler Actually both skaters ended up winning Individual National Championships as well and both were world medalists as well as individual skaters.

[@3Axel1996]

And they were World Jr. Gold Medalists in Pairs in 1988. Kristi also won the World Jr. Gold in the Ladies' event that year, while Rudi won in Men's in 1987.

[@bethanygee6939]

As others have noted, Rudy Galindo ain't nothin' to sneeze at, either! 😄

[@intldawn]

In 25 years, I still have never seen a pair even attempt side by side triple flips. That is just ridiculously hard. It's only been in recent years that pairs have tried doing two triples in a sequence. It's a little of a different metric considering their skill as singles skaters, but the point remains. They brought so many of their individual strength to their pairs skating with great effect.

[@dinh5532]

I agree, way ahead of their time.

[@figureskating2724]

Yeah, do you think if their pairs coach didn't die or if she didn't move to Canada with her coach because her coach got married to probably a Canadian that they would have stayed together as a pair? It actually worked out for both since she won gold at the Olympics and Rudy did well on his own in 1996 winning Nationals and a bronze at Worlds. It's still sad to not know how far they could have gone. We feel they as a pair could have gotten a World and Olympics medal, but probably not gold.

[@rileyduncan1535]

Why is that so hard?

[@OceanbornAngel]

Not enough Pairs do Mirror Skating even now. Mirror skating is so unique and interesting. I'd love to see another pairs team do this.

[@Essylte]

If only Kristi and Rudi coached pairs, I bet the US pairs would be begging them to teach them. And not just them, but a whole bunch of other pairs teams around the world would love to learn to mirror skate. If I were a pair-skater, I would. But, this kind of style isn't for everyone. There's the difficulty of it and the fact that maybe judges would see what past judges saw in Kristi and Rudi - two singles skaters skating together rather than 2 skating as 1. Still, I would LOVE to see another pair try to do what Kristi and Rudi did. Just goes to show that these two are truly a few of the best athletes in their sport.

[@cheetobandido546]

@@Essylte Too bad Kristi never learned how to point her feet, extend her legs or use her port de bras.

[@jeromemichael397]

They had to they jumped the opposite direction.

[@alazjaw.8968]

@@jeromemichael397 well it was choreographed that way

[@minavamp2811]

because most people are right handers. so it's natural for right handers to rotate the jumps counter clockwise while left handers rotate the jumps clockwise. in this case, yamaguci is right hander and galindo is left hander and therefore they rotate opposite of each other.

[@mattwc4394]

Back in the day, when the commentators didn't endleslly yammer through the whole program.

[@fbals081]

This is the reason why when interviewed, Tamara Moskvina said she was more afraid of this pair than any other pair. They had the capability to go toe to toe with the Russians.

[@carlenamoss8955]

Wow. That's quite a compliment from TM. Makes sense. they're so good.

[@Essylte]

Which interview did Tamara Moskvina say this? I wanna know!

[@ddjr6673]

Goodness me! That entry into the death spiral! They worked so well together. Both exceptional talents!

[@Essylte]

I, too, never knew that Kristi Yamaguchi was a pair-skater in her junior days. Mainly, I remember her as a singles skater, and the most popular, best females' skater. My God...I never knew! Kristi is just....simply the best. Her partner, Rudy Galindo? Also the best. If the rules had not changed from then to now, I imagine she and Rudy could have ruled the skating world in both singles AND pairs. I mean, those mirrors spins! Those side by side triples! Who does that anymore in pair-skating? I mean, who does it perfectly, like these two did? I'm so glad I read about her when I was in first grade. She really is my favorite females' singles skater, and now, junior pair-skater!

[@3Axel1996]

Not just junior. She & Rudy won 2 Senior National Championships, here in Baltimore and the next year in Salt Lake City.

[@bobbygrey5834]

Still don’t know how on Earth could those judges come up with marks like 5.7 for their technical merit. They did brilliant mirror triple flips and didn’t choke on any other move for goodness’s sake.

[@abrahamlora329]

Bobby Grey Laughable indeed.. I had it 5.9 technical and 5.7 artistic.. more than enough to win..

[@slipperyhardandcold7740]

@@abrahamlora329 They did win.

[@gregorygahris9358]

While a big fan, their throws in this competition still needed work.

[@kamwrites]

Interesting that it isn't mentioned that Rudi had to learn spins in both directions...his own natural way, and Kristi's direction for pair spinning.

[@RamonAlfonsoOMAR]

opposites turns and unison in jumps ...mirror effect really very nice!!

[@maryannegatbonton9502]

what a performance! These two can do solo and pairs...amazing!

[@cj222100]

'Oriental' background? Yeah, you can tell this was from a long time ago, I haven't heard anyone use the term 'oriental' to describe a person in decades. But I never knew that they ever did pairs at all, let alone were paired with each other

[@surge2k7]

cj222100 That's exactly what I was thinking, and even then it was awkward to use that term, it was '89 for christ's sake, lol.

[@Flobbyoiboyz]

Yeah, that takes me back. It started to change around 1990 or so. "Oriental" is really more descriptive, as it specifies eastern Asia, but we all moved to saying "Asian" anyway.

[@lynncai587]

@@Flobbyoiboyz "oriental" can be quite vague-it has been used throughout the past to describe Middle East, Central Asia, or East Asia.

[@willnill7946]

It just translates east. What’s the big deal

[@VickyRenee]

I do not believe the term was awkward or wrong in that time era. It's because America has become so diverse in nationality over the years. That's all. In the future we'll have people from other planets LOL. Words and phrases change as people adapt to every generation change

[@candysmith8724]

I never knew Rudy nor Kristie were ever pairs skaters. I remember both of them skating single.

[@MichelLeConte1]

24 March Timeless performance: I love rewatching it. Makes you want the old scoring system back!

[@pueraeternus111]

Surya Bonaly accomplished a feat similar to that of Kristi Yamaguchi in 1989 by becoming the French national champion both in singles and in pairs with her skating partner, Benoît Vandenberghe.

[@sandyvale1038]

Incredible. Simply incredible. I am awestruck!

[@pueraeternus111]

6:59 --- A most elegant Choctaw entrance to a death spiral.

[@GypsySorcerer]

I remember being so sad when Kristi decided to focus solely on singles. They were such a fun pair. Happy both went on to future successes.

[@slipperyhardandcold7740]

I was at this event. I forgot that they mirror skated. I was sad that Kristi gave up pair skating, but I'm glad that things turned out well for both of them.

[@toxic-low-key-ghost7934]

Honestly it’s good that she gave it up, she had a very successful singles career and she probably would not have been an Olympic champion in pairs skating considering she would have been up against teams like gordeeva and grinkov, Isabella and loyd, Natalia and artur, Elena and Dennis, and if she had stayed on till 98 they would have been up against even tougher competition. Technically they were great, but that’s about it. Kristi is much more suited for singles if you compare her pairs skating to some of the top teams

[@darav23]

Getting on the ice at 5am with a scribe to do figures? This brings back SO many memories.

[@wackybrinyc29]

"Oriental Background"? OH... the 80's!!!! LOL

[@mattg.812]

+wackybrinyc29 Is her background hispanic?

[@olivedog1880]

+Matt G. Asian I think

[@hyacinthoides]

japanese heritage

[@athomewithfrancsicio]

I almost choked

[@divineson1681]

LMAO I thought the same thing

[@YTD07]

wow! I never new they had the US figure skating championships in my home city....

[@bethford6884]

Beautiful choreography and even more beautiful performance.

[@conradmartinez4175]

THEY SHOULD HAVE STAYED TOGETHER AS A TEAM! ⛸😊🇺🇸

[@minavamp2811]

yamaguci was too ambitious to do pair so she moved to single and absolutely made the right choice by winning 2 world championships and 1 Olympics in single.

[@SonOfAGun1814]

triple flip triple toe and 22 years later pairs aren't even doing that

[@tedzteddie]

This a brilliant figure skating pair routine!! MAGNIFICENT!!

[@lesliem7919]

Wow I’m so impressed! They did an amazing job. I also never knew Kristi was a pair skater. I’m glad I found out via KZbin. Both are very talented and glad they earned medals.

[@mht4908]

I wish she continued in pairs, but maybe doing both would've meant that she may not have won in Albertville, and doing pairs also caused to her always miss her Salchow jump

[@jackbuddy3849]

Oh wow, her interview was filmed here in SF almost 30 yrs ago!😳

[@wackybrinyc29]

OMG so 80s LOL love it!

[@nelliebpink13]

I had no idea Kristy was a pair skater....I guess it was before my time

[@tateurdina]

kristi etait vraiment une tres grande patineuse

[@Itstonytime77]

It was a shame that she bailed on pairs right before the Olympics I felt bad for Rudy.

[@jessicagalvin363]

Completely agree. Rudy was devastated and lost with change. Took him a good time to get his confidence back and thankfully getting his own national title/World bronze medal. That year was his personal victory and nobody could take that away from him. ❤️ To Rudy

[@cheetobandido546]

Wow, didn't know that! I guess I'll have to add that to my list of why Kristi is among my least favorite Olympic gold winning skaters. Also makes me like Rudy that much more.

[@jessicagalvin363]

@@cheetobandido546 Yes it is sad the way things were done. Don't remember but she left training with Rudy and started or continued training up in Canada for the singles. Guess she and coach's thought she had a better chance going solo. To bad Rudy did not see that coming when she did pairs and singles during their time together. Poor Rudy never had a voice or chance to express his thoughts to her quitting pairs. Maybe if he had a heads up maybe he could have found another partner. Overall I am happy for Rudy getting his own US title and World bronze 🥉 that will never be taken away from him. He can keep his head held high for his accomplishments.

[@gardenplots283]

And after he dropped singles to concentrate on pairs.

[@3Axel1996]

@@jessicagalvin363 A lot changed after this season. Her singles coach moved to Edmonton where her husband got a new job (physician). Kristi decided to make the move with her. Their pairs coach, Jim Hulick, passed from cancer shortly after accompanying them to the NHK Trophy in Dec 1989. That left Rudy and Kristi to pretty much train pairs on their own with some help from John Hicks (who coached Hulick when he was a pairs skater in the early 70s). Kristi made the decision to focus solely on singles after finishing 5th in both Pairs and Singles at the 90 Worlds. With the elimination of compulsory figures the next season, she felt that she would certainly excel in singles the next season, which she did, winning 91 Worlds.

[@DonnaLichvarcik-e1w]

They went from best friend duet partners to solo badass skaters

[@2snowgirl520]

I remember I was sad when they both left pairs.

[@figureskating2724]

yes, but both won an us national title and a world medal. kristi also won olympic gold. both did well in singles after the split. we were sad too as they had unlimited potential. needed more time for better quality pair elements and better artistic style. we feel that if the pairs coach didn't pass away, then it would have been harder for kristi to quit pairs. they could have easily got a medal at the olympics in pairs for the next two chances; however, it ended up well for both just not in pairs.

[@Armadyl1992ify]

Amazing

[@yodabeeshdc8275]

Are there any pairs these days that do SBS 3 flips? Everyone seems to do toes, sals, and the occasional loop. Duhamel and Redford did the SBS 3 lutz.

[@swizzle1961]

Wonder if this would be possible today? A clockwise and CCW pair. Kudos to the coaching team to make this work.

[@minavamp2811]

if you can find one is a right hander yamaguci and the other is a left hander galindo then you will have it. the problem is most people are right handers and therefore they spin the same direction counter clockwise.

[@figureskating2724]

Just wondering, How many other pair skaters were doing multiple hand changes positions? We didn't follow skating before this so we are unsure when the changes in positions occurred. Were they the first to do more than 2 positions? We were just curious. Thanks for your assistance.

[@ratacapucha9407]

YIKES!! The 80's!

[@russcohen3779]

They should have stayed togeather

[@alazjaw.8968]

they were more successful apart

[@applenyc5300]

She was so cute!

[@DemonsSister]

So weird thinking of either of them as pair skaters.

[@johnorlando9839]

Did they ever imagine their greatest success in this sport would be in singles?

[@barkingtree88]

I really wish they had come back to win gold at the Olympics.... They could've ended Russian dominance!!

[@ravenel2]

No, they most definitely could not have. You had two of the best Russian teams of all time at that time, which is why it was smart for Kristi to ditch pairs and grab gold as a solo skater.

[@cbcluckyii4042]

Please tell me they will be skating to Cyndi Lauper girls just want to have fun for their free skate!

[@johnorlando9839]

Dick Button kept looking for the US pair that would fill the hole of unfulfillment left by Tai and Randy’s tragedy.

[@ItsSusieQue96]

Love hm but can never forgive her…

[@meilingchan4948]

OMG he said oriental background.

[@KyleKroha]

IKR???😮

[@BmcC102]

@@KyleKrohaback then, it wasn’t considered derogatory in mainstream media yet.

[@swizzle1961]

Remember those scribes haha

[@pomarekaire1344]

A bit cheesy?

[@bettyvan1213]

Rudi!!!

[@queenmaoasada8447]

To all those who claimed the USFSA was biased in favor of Caucasian blondes when they gave Wagner the Olympic spot... Can you say Yamaguchi and Kwan???

[@ashli674]

+Jules Mekler Alot has changed in the last 20+ years.

[@queenmaoasada8447]

I am usually the first to call racism but not when it comes to Asians in figure skating. Kwan retired 10 years ago; she consistently out-scored and out-endorsed her main American rival, the elegant, conventionally good-looking, Caucasian, Sasha Cohen. At Vancouver, Scott and Sandra went on and on and on about Mirai being the future of figure skating. With Asada and Ando and Kim as the most acclaimed skaters of the last decade, I truly don't think it's fair to call racism when. it comes to Asians in skating. Blacks and Latinos, absolutely.

[@ashli674]

Jules Mekler Quite true. Kwan established herself as a favorite of the judges very early on. I feel like it's whoever has the most endorsements like you said. I don't feel like Wagner was given the spot because she was blond and blue eyed, she had a better season than Mirai did. The one thing I can't understand is why send the fifteen year old girl over Mirai? Or do you think it could have been, 'send the girl and get her started' kind of thing?

[@queenmaoasada8447]

Ya maybe, I could-a seen them sending Mirai over Polina, but either way it's tough... I wish they'd just massively overscored Ashley and underscored Mirai; i.e., typical protocol when the judges have an agenda!

[@3Axel1996]

Yamaguchi? When? 89, 90 and 92 Nationals, she outskated her competitors to earn her spot on the World and Olympic teams. 90 she had problems, but she still had more difficult content than Cook, Harding, Kerrigan or Campbell that year. At 92 Nationals, she was the only one to have a clean skate with 7 triples in the LP.

[@cheetobandido546]

Check out Galindo as a single skater, breathtaking. Yamaguchi, on the other hand, is one of the ugliest female skaters to win Olympic gold, right up there with Lipinski. Was she not capable of pointing her feet? Ugh.

[@waynehentley4332]

You just don't like her?🤔🤔

[@oliviappopz]

you really gotta learn figure skating is not about how pretty you are

[@alazjaw.8968]

pointing out kristi’s flaw but not rudy’s as if he we’re perfect? hm biased and unnecessary

[@minavamp2811]

you simply spew out stupidity. in 1992 olympics yamaguci had the highest artistic scores. you can't have high artistic score when skating ugly.