Two of the five regional judges, Peter Carruthers and Kristi Yamaguchi, were Olympic medalists. Carruthers won the pairs silver medal in 1984 with his sister Kitty, while Yamaguchi won the 1992 ladies' gold. Two others, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, were the favorites at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics before withdrawing due to Randy's injury, as discussed in the movie.