Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi recently offered advice to those who aspire to be pair skaters. Kristi spent seven years partnering with U.S. Figure Skating Champion Rudy Galindo, before they split up to compete solely in singles competitions.
“Be the best skater you can be,” Yamaguchi told About.com. “Work hard on basic skating skills and master jumps. Today’s top pair skaters don’t need to master all the triple jumps that elite single skaters do, but they still need to have solid jumping skills.”
Yamaguchi stressed the importance of finding a partner you are compatible with and to stick together as long as possible. She says the longer you work together, the better.
Speaking about her relationship with Galindo who is now her 7-year-old daughter’s ice skating coach, she said “we became a unit and skated like one.”
She admits competing in both singles and doubles at the same time is difficult and says eventually pairs will have to choose just one.
You can read a lot more about what Yamaguchi has been doing in this article in About.com.
