Olympians Yamaguchi, Boitano lead skating stars to benefit childhood literacy

What is there for Olympic skaters to do after they’ve won gold medals and, eventually, inevitably, aged out of Olympic-level competition? Perform in ice shows? Teach? Coach a particularly promising Olympic hopeful?

For Kristi Yamaguchi — women’s figure skating gold medalist, 1992 — another option is working for social change. Yamaguchi and her Always Dream Foundation are advancing the cause of early childhood literacy.

Kids who master reading skills earlier in childhood do better than those who lag behind. Studies have shown that children who are not at least moderately skilled readers by the time they finish third grade are unlikely to graduate from high school.

In 2014 the Always Dream Foundation formed a partnership with a group in Hawaii to support early childhood literacy at Linapuni and Kalihi Kai elementary schools. Early literacy programs at those schools, and perhaps several others, will be thebeneficiaries this weekend when Yamaguchi, 1988 Olympic men’s gold medalist Brian Boitano and a dazzling group of champions from Japan, Russia, Canada and the United States perform in “Golden Moment Hawaii” in Blaisdell Arena.

It will be the first time in almost 20 years that an ice show has been presented in the arena, and the first time ever that Yamaguchi, the only Japanese-American gold medalist in figure skating, and 2006 Olympic champion Shizuka Arakawa, the onlyJapanese gold medalist in figure skating, perform in the same show.

“We are thrilled to be bringing ice skating back to Hawaii after almost 20 years, especially one that is serving as a platform to raise both funds and awareness for early childhood literacy,” Yamaguchi said during a promotional visit here with Boitano inSeptember. “I skated here a few times with ‘Stars on Ice’ and got such a warm reception that I have always felt a special connection to Hawaii, (and) so when my Always Dream Foundation was looking to expand, Hawaii was my first choice.”

“We want to support underserved schools and provide kindergarten classrooms with 21st-century technology, including e-tablets and digital books,” she continued. “We can be the key to unlocking future academic success and realizing life potential.”

Other stars in the show are Olympic gold medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White (ice dancing, 2014) and Ekaterina “Katia” Gordeeva (pairs, with Sergei Grinkov, 1988, 1994); world champions Kurt Browning, Yuka Sato and Miki Ando; former Japanesenational champion Takeshi Honda; and former U.S. national champion Jeremy Abbott.

Boitano described the show as “a first.”

“Headlining a Hawaii figure skating show alongside my good friend Kristi Yamaguchi is a first, and this is an all-star cast that is here to support Kristi,” he said. “Very rarely do you see all these skaters come together in one show. I love supporting myfriends, and we’re looking forward to putting on a great show.”

He added that when he skates in Hawaii this weekend, he will have reached his goal of skating in all 50 states.

For Yamaguchi the show is part of her return to skating — and a rare public performance. For several years after she and her husband, retired professional hockey player Bret Hedican, started their family, she didn’t skate at all.

“Normally, I think it’s tough for an athlete to step away from their sport, but I was excited about becoming a mom and I just fell right into the role. I skated after our first one was born, but after the second one was born, dealing with two babies — it wastime to stay home for a while. It was just a natural thing.”

A season with “Dancing With the Stars” — where she and dance partner Mark Ballas emerged as the champions — got her “working outside the house a little more.” “

It’s a matter of just getting back on the ice again. There really is no other workout or way to prepare yourself for skating other than skating. I started (skating) a couple of times a week, and then eventually I was going four days a week, even if my bodywasn’t feeling great.” “

I call skating my hobby now because I don’t feel like I’m really training. I’m doing it and staying in shape, and it feels good and I’m trying to enjoy it, but it’s a great workout, too. I probably couldn’t find a better way to get the whole body in sync.”

Yamaguchi said almost apologetically that she skates “45 minutes to an hour” four times a week, a schedule that she says “is not real training.” When she was training for the Olympics, she was on the ice for two or 2-1/2 hours daily and would spendanother hour or two off the ice, doing cardio and strength training.

Looking back at her years as a competitive skater developing the skills that would take her to the Olympics, Yamaguchi said that one of the things a skater has to accept is that no matter how much you prepare and how accomplished you are, skating is “ajudged sport.”

“You can skate your best and they might not like you, and you have to learn how to accept that. There’s a lot of that involved. You just try your best.”

The times that she didn’t win, she would review what the winner had done and try to figure out how she could become more competitive.

“Obviously, your coach is involved in this, too. ‘You need to work on your speed. You need to work on the height of your jumps — whatever it is (at that moment), rather than focusing on, ‘Oh my gosh, the Olympics are out there!’ It’s the small goals thatday; these (things) are what you have to do that day to be competitive right now.”

Asked about what skaters have to do to be competitive on the Olympic level, Yamaguchi said that male skaters must be able to do quads (an aerial maneuver that includes four complete revolutions) — and probably need to do two of them to score in thetop three.

"For girls it’s still the triple axel,” she continued. An axel requires an extra half-rotation of the body and is the most technically difficult jump among six types of jumps in singles figure skating.

“Midori Ito in ’92 landed the first triple axel in Olympic competition,” Yamaguchi said. “It’s been done a couple times in the World (championships). That’s still a hurdle that the women are working on. A handful can do it. It’s not seen consistently incompetition yet, but I think that’s probably around the corner.”