Tai Babilonia
| Tai Babilonia | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Tai Reina Babilonia | ||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented | United States | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born | September 22, 1959 Los Angeles, California |
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| Former partner | Randy Gardner | ||||||||||||||||||
| Former coach | John Nicks | ||||||||||||||||||
| Skating club | Los Angeles FSC | ||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Tai Reina Babilonia (born September 22, 1959 in Los Angeles, California) is an American former pair skater. With partner Randy Gardner, she is the 1979 World champion and a five-time (1976–1980) U.S. national champion. The pair qualified for the 1976 and 1980 Winter Olympics.
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Career [edit]
Babilonia / Gardner began skating together when Babilonia was eight years old and Gardner was ten.[1] Their coach from 1972 until 1980 was John Nicks. The pair became five-time U.S. national champions and won the gold medal at the 1979 World Championships.[2][3] They were medal favorites at the 1980 Winter Olympics but were forced to withdraw due to an injury to Gardner.[1][4]
Babilonia was the first figure skater of partial African American descent to win U.S. and World titles[citation needed]. She is also part Filipino on her father's side and part Native American.[5]
Babilonia appeared in the 2006 FOX television program Skating with Celebrities, partnered with Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner (Decathlon).
Personal [edit]
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Competitive highlights [edit]
(with Gardner)
| 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 | |||||||
References [edit]
- ^ a b Elliott, 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.
- ^ "Past U.S. Champions - Senior". Excel Energy Center. Archived from the original on February 9, 2012.
- ^ Rosewater, Amy (January 14, 2013). "A life in skating: An interview with John Nicks". IceNetwork.
- ^ http://notablefilipinos.com/USA.htm
- Sports-reference profile
- "Skate Canada Results Book - Volume 1 - 1896 - 1973" (PDF). Skate Canada.
- "Skate Canada Results Book - Volume 2 - 1974 - current" (PDF). Skate Canada.
External links [edit]
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- American pair skaters
- Olympic figure skaters of the United States
- Figure skaters at the 1976 Winter Olympics
- Figure skaters at the 1980 Winter Olympics
- African-American sportspeople
- American people of Filipino descent
- Sportspeople from Ashland, Oregon
- 1959 births
- Living people
- People from Los Angeles, California
- American sportswomen of Asian descent
- American sportspeople of Asian descent
- World Figure Skating Championships medalists
