Randy Gardner(born December 2, 1958) is anAmericanformerpair skater.Together withTai Babilonia,he won the 1979World Figure Skating Championships[1]and fiveU.S. Figure Skating Championships(1976–1980). The pair qualified for the 1976 and 1980 Winter Olympics.
| Randy Gardner | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Gardner in 1979 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Randy Gardner | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | December 2, 1958 Los Angeles, California,U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Skating club | Santa Monica FSC Los Angeles FSC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Career
editBabilonia and Gardner began skating together when Babilonia was eight and Gardner ten.[2]Their first coach wasMabel Fairbanks,and began training withJohn Nicksin 1971. They won the gold medal as juniors at their first U.S. Nationals in 1973 and as seniors, they came in second place in 1974 and 1975. The pair became five-timeU.S. national championsand won the gold medal at the1979 World Championships.[3][4]They were medal favorites at the1980 Winter Olympicsbut were forced to withdraw due to a thigh injury to Gardner,which ended their competitive careers.[2][5][6][4][7]
Babilonia and Gardner toured with theIce Capadesfor four years and withChampions on Icefor two years. They performed in manyice showsand competed professionally, earning first place in theWorld Professional Championshipsin 1985.[7]
In 2006, Gardner appeared as a choreographer on thereality televisionseriesSkating with Celebrities.[8]In 2008, he indicated that he was working on his autobiography which was to be released at the end of the year.[9]It has not been released. In 2008, Babilonia and Gardner announced their retirement from show skating due to a neck injury sustained by Gardner and their advancing ages.[10][6]
Personal life
editGardner discovered in 1998 that he was adopted after a relative divulged the family secret.[2][10]After a five-year search, he found his birth mother who had become pregnant with him at age 17 after being raped by a family friend.[2]In 2006, Gardner revealed that he isgay.[2][11][12]
Competitive highlights
edit(with Babilonia)
| Event | 1973–74 | 1974–75 | 1975–76 | 1976–77 | 1977–78 | 1978–79 | 1979–80 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympic Games | 5th | WD | |||||
| World Championships | 10th | 10th | 5th | 3rd | 3rd | 1st | |
| U.S. Championships | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st |
| Nebelhorn Trophy | 1st | ||||||
| Coupe des Alpes | 3rd | ||||||
| WD = Withdrew | |||||||
References
edit- ^Franco, Joe (1997-07-08)."Tai and Randy, Skating's Dynamic Duo".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved2023-08-14.
- ^abcdeElliott, Helene (March 20, 2008)."Tai and Randy's bond is sure and steady off the ice".Los Angeles Times.
- ^"World Figure Skating Championships Results: Pairs medalists"(PDF).International Skating Union.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2007-07-10.
- ^ab"Past U.S. Champions - Senior"(PDF).Excel Energy Center. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on February 9, 2012.
- ^Rosewater, Amy (January 14, 2013)."A life in skating: An interview with John Nicks".IceNetwork.
- ^abEvans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen;Mallon, Bill;et al."Randy Gardner".Olympics at Sports-Reference.com.Sports Reference LLC.Archived fromthe originalon 2020-04-18.
- ^abHines, James R. (2011).Historical Dictionary of Figure Skating.Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 29.ISBN978-0-8108-6859-5.
- ^Skating with Celebrities (TV Series 2006– ) - IMDb,retrieved2023-08-14
- ^"Catching up with...Randy Gardner".Lifeskate.com.April 11, 2008.
- ^ab"Together Forever".People Magazine, Vol. 69, No. 20, p. 159.May 26, 2008.
- ^Zeigler, Cyd (2017-11-08)."Olympian Randy Gardner shares his life as a gay athlete in the 1980s".Outsports.Retrieved2023-08-14.
- ^"Go Figure: The Randy Gardner Story | U.S. Figure Skating".www.usfigureskating.org.2021-06-16.Retrieved2023-08-14.
External links
edit- "Skate Canada Results Book - Volume 1 - 1896 - 1973"(PDF).Skate Canada.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2010-11-22.
- "Skate Canada Results Book - Volume 2 - 1974 - current"(PDF).Skate Canada.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2009-09-20.
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