Randy Gardner | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Randy Gardner | ||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | December 2, 1958||||||||||||||||||||
Figure skating career | |||||||||||||||||||||
Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
Skating club | Santa Monica FSC Los Angeles FSC | ||||||||||||||||||||
Retired | 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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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.
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]
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]
(with Babilonia)
Event | 1973–74 | 1974–75 | 1975–76 | 1976–77 | 1977–78 | 1978–79 | 1979–80 |
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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 |
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