Kristi Yamaguchi - 1992 U.S. Nationals, Ladies' Free Skate 

Sandra Bezic's choreography set to this Spanish music is breathtaking. A masterclass performance by Yamaguchi. Sublime!

This program would still win many competitions in this day and age. Simply Breath Taking.

back then women jumped so high.. their jumps had so much elevation.. Midori Ito literally flew off the ice doing her jumps.. so did Tonya Harding.. and look at Kristi's double axel.. most of todays women skater don't even get that much elevation

This is a truly magnificent performance! I think it is the best performance ever by any American skater and one of the all time greats from any nation. Incredible combination of fine artistry, athleticism and supreme beauty. Kristi has such nice dance, arm and hand moves. She also has aesthetically pleasing lines and extensions that she holds out elegantly for great lengths of time to make the beauty of her arabesque remain fixated in my mind. I also love the Russian split jumps into a triple jump and the flying sit spin. Kristi also has a great attitude when she says that she is just glad she made the team for the Olympics, instead of focusing on her victory.

I was fortunate enough to see this competition live. Kristi's complex skating routines would win Worlds even today.

Kristi is simply the best -- both technically and artistically -- that this sport has ever seen. And probably will see for many years to come. I'd rather watch old videos of Kristi than watch the newer skaters, none of whom can perform an accurate layback spin, and none of whom have her talent, style, and class.

All elements - components and exceptional choreography make this STILL one of the best ever............, STILL good enough 20 plus years later to win. Big applause and a v. genuine, down-to-earth, sincere, sweet individual. Pure class.

I know Kristi was bummed about 3 years of coming in 2nd at Nationals but to peak in the winter of 1992 was not a bad idea! And talk about picking the right piece of music. I'm a huge Midori fan but no one can deny the greatness of this program. Wow.

Kristi is my all time favorite skater.

Kristi was always one of my all time favorites!

I miss programs like this jewel. This is a fine crafted piece of artwork, years and years of training and talent, and the outcome is a brilliant, sparkling program.

I was so happy when she landed her triple salchow and loved seeing the reaction from her and her coach. I think that even the crowd was extra excited to see her land it because everyone knew that it’s her nemesis. I don’t recall a competition where she’s landed one except in pairs, where she would get the assist from Rudi Galindo. I read somewhere that she was so used to the assist that she had problems adjusting to it as a singles skater. What a fantastic program!

Relly powerful, skating in the world no one can compare With this, win win win,

Not enough can be said about this performance. This, and Michelle's Lyra Angelica, are two of the best in the history of Nationals.

She has so so many fans and-such a happy and very beautiful skater. The other commenter was right - the height she gets in her jumps amazing! She was short too

Beautiful, quick, and clean. Lovely!

Re Rachel's comment: I liked also that Kwiatkowski gave a bit of sisterly encouragement right at the end of the warmup, just before Kristi skated. I admire her sportswomanship!

It always amazed me how the salchow was the jump she had the hardest time with, considering it's the easiest jump (supposedly). I LOVE that she was able to complete a perfect free program from her, and with her best music and choreography on top of it!!! I agree that this and Kwan's Lyra are two for the ages.

the bow made me so anxious ahhh

Kristi won the Gold at the Olympics two months after this performance in 1992.

2021 and I still love to watching this

I could never tired of watching christi skate,she is so amazing.

Very beautiful great command of her Skating!

Love you,kristi, god blesse,

They talk about what great skaters Tonya and Kristi are, and then they get to Nancy, and what's the first thing they say: "Doesn't she look beautiful?" That narrative must have been annoying for her fellow skaters.

that was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beautiful flying sit spin!

Just great! Thank you.

There only criticism that I have is that her spins were slow. Other than that, this was marvelous. I will always love Kristi.

She sounded so cute back then aw 😍😩

Her grandparents were detained in concentration camp of USA during WW2. Respect from Japan, KRISTI.

beautiful skate! kinda depressing how little women's figure skating has advanced since the age of midori and kristi.

Kristi's technique on the Salchow was sub-par. It's very much a "feeling" & timing jump and some people never get the feeling (i.e., Paul Wylie). She does not check the free hip nearly enough & does not get the "snap" typical of good triple salchows. Having the correct check, timing & tension on the free side is key to a good salchow. Her other jumps have pretty good snap. It's not unusual for a skater to have a weak jump, many did.

This was the definition of artistry. Pre code of points when the skaters each had their own style. She has no preparation into almost every jump but the lutz. Every hand gesture, spin and jump is synchronized with the music effortlessly because she feels every note. Kristi was very special. I think Midori was the greatest skater of this era but for other reasons Kristi was a close second. They don’t really skate like this anymore. All frenetic step sequences to get more points. Ugly spin positions for points. Weird jump positions for points. No wonder nobody watches this sport anymore.

When spirals were spirals, not 3-second leg lifts.

I remember that they said she was too used to be thrown into the triple salchow as a pair skater so she never was able to properly do this jump.

And I give her a LOT of credit for always trying the salchow. It would be easy to omit it, as so many ladies do now with their most difficult jump.

Less than 2 months before the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France.

Que hermoso patinaje de Kristy, actualmente vemos a las rusas competir hasta con cuàdruples, pero ya no vemos este nivel de arte, se ha perdido mucho.

Love this program. Beautiful. And Both Kristis here are very pretty.

Yes, it was at Nationals (which are scheduled prior to the Olympics during an Olympic year as they serve as the Olympic trials)

Kristi will always be me favorite figure skater! The most beautiful, the best, most talented, most shapely and sexy!

20 years!!!

Much better than Tonya Harding......

I just loved watching Tonya and Midori Ito do their triple axels so much more then Mao Asada. They were so much more impressive then Mao's.

Yes indeed, even Yu Na Kim left out the 3-Loop at the Olympics!

By far Kristis cleanest performance. If only she didn’t step between the 3lutz and 3toe.

It was likely always a problem jump due to her pairs career. Since she and Rudy did a throw triple sal, She may have found doing it solo more of a challenge because the timing and momentum were different.

This is where Michelle Kwan got her inspirational. I think.

“iN a VeRy LaDyLiKe MaNnEr.” Gross. They were all talented but Nancy’s skating was as boring as her outfits. Unlike Kristi and Tonya, it’s a chore to watch her.

Кристи - самая гениальная фигуристка США за всю историю женского одиночного катания!

You are the bast K,

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED called this rendition of "Malaguena" one of the most complete performances on ice. She loses the red ribbon on her ponytail at 0500. The skating Gods must've been watching out for her to prevent her from skating over the ribbon.

WOW THAT TRIPLE AXEL

Wait what was the blind draw for? I love her hair btw

This beats Yuna!

How many times did this girl draw to skate first?

Maybe the salchow was so difficoult for her because she use to perform it as a throw jump in her pairs days? She had a wierd technique... She seems to hold on the free leg too much and the 3turn was always a bit rushed...

@mec441 Kristi also landed the triple salchow at the 1989 Worlds - watch?v=7Hb4YpaFMiw

Is this the only 6.0 that Kristi got in the course of her career?

she used to do it in pair skating as a thrown jump.

It's a miracle for Kristi that she was never whacked by Tonya since they were in direct competition for at least two years running. Perhaps Tonya wasn't hooked up to her henchmen at this point, which was a good thing for Kristi. Bet when the tragedy happened two years later in Detroit to Nancy, Kristi's first reaction was: "That could've been ME!"

クリスティーはオリンピックのプレッシャーなど、みじんも感じさせない演技だった😊伊藤みどりを破るだろうと予想してた人も多かった様に思う

5：02　: A hair ribbon flies to the skating rink.

Did anyone else find the ticking clock WILDLY distracting at 92 nationals?

I've never been into figure skating before, but I love watching women skate. Female skaters are so sexy.

E Dee agree

Sportmanship difference between Yamaguchi and Kwan is evidenced after Harding's performance in 91 Nationals and Trenary's 90 Nationals with Kristi watching and applauding, smiling with rest of spectators. Kwan couldn't quite pull herself up emotionally to do that after Lapinski and Hughes Olympic performances. Emotional Maturity and Sportsmanship: Thumbs up to Yamaguchi. That was the only area Kwan left a less than professional image with me.

I Know... My weak jump was the toe-loop

is this before the olympics?

was this the only time she landed the salchow?

every

ladylike? WTH does that suppose to mean?

Well the same thing applies to Kristi. My point is here. You cannot compete with the fact that today's girls are nowhere as 'fat' or dumb' as Tonya has been in her mediocre career. If she didn't whine while on the ice, or send someone to whack her opponent on the knee, then I wouldn't even care less of Tonya's existence had she been more reserved and competent as a trusted sports athlete.

What does Dick Button say ay 6:06? It doesn't sound like English HAHA.