Rudy Galindo

Rudy Galindo
Personal information
Country represented United States
Born September 7, 1969 (1969-09-07) (age 42)
San Jose, California
Residence Reno, Nevada
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Former partner Kristi Yamaguchi
Coach Laura Galindo-Black

Val Joe "Rudy" Galindo (born September 7, 1969 in San Jose, California) is an American figure skater who competed in both single skating and pair skating. As a single skater, he is the 1996 U.S. national champion and 1987 World Junior Champion. As a pairs skater, he competed with Kristi Yamaguchi and was the 1988 World Junior Champion and the 1989 & 1990 U.S. National Champion.

Contents

Biography

Rudy Galindo is the third child of Jess and Margaret Galindo, having a brother, George, who was ten years older and sister, Laura, five years older.[1] He began skating with his sister and, although the sport was expensive, his parents were supportive and forewent a chance to buy a house, settling instead for a larger trailer.[1]

Galindo was partnered with Kristi Yamaguchi by his coach, Jim Hulick, who died of AIDS-related cancer in 1989.[1] The pair won the 1988 World Junior title and the U.S. senior championships in 1989 and 1990. In singles, Galindo won the 1987 World Junior title before temporarily giving up the discipline in order to concentrate on pairs. However, in April 1990, Yamaguchi decided to end the partnership to focus on her singles career, and with no one of her caliber to partner with, Galindo returned to singles competition.[1]

His father died of a heart attack in 1993, his brother, George, died from AIDS in 1994, as did another coach, Rick Inglesi, in 1995.[1] Galindo took eight months off after the 1995 U.S. Championships. However, with the following year's event in his hometown, presenting a chance to compete in front of his mother who no longer traveled, he decided to resume training in September 1995.[1] In January 1996, he won the men's title at the U.S. Championships at the San Jose Arena, becoming the oldest male to win this title in 70 years.[1] He went on to win a bronze medal at the 1996 World Championships. His sister, Laura, was his coach.[1]

Galindo retired from eligible competition in the summer of 1996. After being diagnosed as HIV positive and recovering from hip replacement surgery, Galindo continued to tour with the Tom Collins' Champions on Ice show until it went out of business in 2007.

Galindo coaches at Sharks Ice San Jose, the same rink where he trained during his competitive career.[2] He is to be inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.[2]

Personal life

Galindo is of Mexican descent by way of his grandparents on his father's side.[1] He 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 is the first openly gay skating champion in the U.S.[1] He published his autobiography Icebreaker in 1997 (ISBN 0-671-00390-9).

In 2006, Galindo was a celebrity judge on the WE tv series Skating's Next Star, created and produced by Major League Figure Skating and hosted by Kristi Yamaguchi.

Competitive highlights

Singles career

Event 1981-82 1982-83 1983-84 1984-85 1985-86 1986-87 1987-88 1990-91 1991-92 1992-93 1993-94 1994-95 1995-96
World Championships 3rd
World Junior Championships 3rd 2nd 1st
U.S. Championships 1st N. 5th J. 3rd J. 3rd J. 8th 10th 11th 8th 5th 7th 8th 1st
Vienna Cup 1st
Nations Cup 4th
Prague Skate 2nd
Asko Cup 1st
Pokal der Blauen Schwerter 2nd
Grand Prize SNP 1st

Pairs career

(with Kristi Yamaguchi)

Event 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
World Championships 5th 5th
World Junior Championships 5th 3rd 1st
U.S. Championships 5th J. 1st J. 5th 5th 1st 1st
Skate America 5th 2nd
NHK Trophy 3rd 4th
Skate Electric 1st

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Swift, E.M. (March 11, 1996). "On A Roll". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1007827/1/index.htm. Retrieved June 26, 2011. 
  2. ^ a b Elfman, Lois (August 31, 2011). "Galindo to enter San Jose Sports Hall of Fame". Icenetwork. http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110831&content_id=23995772&vkey=ice_news. Retrieved September 1, 2011. 

External links

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