Randy Gardner (figure skater)
Randy Gardner (born December 2, 1958) is an American former pair skater. Together with Tai Babilonia, he won the 1979 World Figure Skating Championships[1] and five U.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 edit
Babilonia and Gardner began skating together when Babilonia was eight and Gardner ten.[2] Their first coach was Mabel Fairbanks, and later they were coached by John Nicks. The pair became five-time U.S. national champions and won the gold medal at the 1979 World Championships.[3][4] They were medal favorites at the 1980 Winter Olympics but were forced to withdraw due to a thigh injury to Gardner.[2][5][6]
In 2006, Gardner appeared as a choreographer on the reality television series Skating with Celebrities.[7] In 2008, he indicated that he was working on his autobiography which was to be released at the end of the year.[8] 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.[9][6]
Personal life edit
Gardner discovered in 1998 that he was adopted after a relative divulged the family secret.[2][9] 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 is gay.[2][10][11]
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. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
- ^ a b c d e Elliott, Helene (March 20, 2008). "Tai and Randy's bond is sure and steady off the ice". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ (PDF). International Skating Union. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-10.
- ^ (PDF). Excel Energy Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 9, 2012.
- ^ Rosewater, Amy (January 14, 2013). "A life in skating: An interview with John Nicks". IceNetwork.
- ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. . Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18.
- ^ Skating with Celebrities (TV Series 2006– ) - IMDb, retrieved 2023-08-14
- ^ "Catching up with...Randy Gardner". Lifeskate.com. April 11, 2008.
- ^ a b "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. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
- ^ "Go Figure: The Randy Gardner Story | U.S. Figure Skating". www.usfigureskating.org. 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
External links edit
- (PDF). Skate Canada. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-22.
- (PDF). Skate Canada. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-09-20.
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