Rudy Galindo

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Rudy Galindo
Personal Info
Country: Flag of United States United States
Residence: Reno, Nevada
Height: 5' 6"
Weight: 135 lbs.
Coach: Laura Galindo-Black
ISU Personal Best Scores

Val Joe "Rudy" Galindo (born September 7, 1969 in San Jose, California) is an American figure skater. He skated pairs with Kristi Yamaguchi, winning the 1988 World Junior Championship and the U.S. senior championships in 1989 and 1990. He also won the 1987 World Junior Championship in singles before temporarily giving up on singles competition in order to concentrate on pairs. After his partnership with Yamaguchi broke up in 1990, Galindo returned to singles competition. In 1996, Galindo won the men's title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at the San Jose Arena, becoming the oldest male to win this title in almost 50 years. He followed this win with a bronze medal at the 1996 World Championships.

Galindo retired from eligible competition in the summer of 1996. After being diagnosed as HIV positive and recovering from hip surgery, Rudy continues to tour with the Tom Collins' Champions on Ice show.

Galindo disclosed his homosexuality in Christine Brennan's book Inside Edge: A Revealing Journey Into the Secret World of Figure Skating (ISBN 0-385-48607-3), which was published shortly before he won his national title in 1996.

He published his autobiography Icebreaker in 1997 (ISBN 0-671-00390-9).

During the 2006 Winter Olympics, Galindo challenged the news media to ask American Olympian Johnny Weir about his sexual orientation, and apparently claimed that Weir copied his skating style. The conflict, however, was shortlived. Galindo and Weir both performed in the 2006 Spring and Summer tour of Champions on Ice, and reconciled during that time. When asked about the earlier conflict in a July 2006 Q&A, Weir responded, "Rudy and I get along great now. Things were a little awkward in the beginning of the Tour, but we talked and hung out a lot, and it's all in the past. He comes out every night to watch me skate and support me and that means a lot to me. We have bonded really well and we play off one another and our relationship is great. We've even started doing a throw double axel in the finale of the show just for fun. Things are worked out."

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