Tai Babilonia
| Tai Babilonia | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Tai Reina Babilonia | ||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented | United States | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
September 22, 1959 Los Angeles, California | ||||||||||||||||||
| Former partner | Randy Gardner | ||||||||||||||||||
| Former coach | John Nicks | ||||||||||||||||||
| Skating club | Los Angeles FSC | ||||||||||||||||||
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.
Career
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]
In 1990, a biographical film of her rise to fame was aired on television, "On Thin Ice: The Tai Babilonia Story". [6]
Babilonia appeared in the 2006 FOX television program Skating with Celebrities, partnered with Olympic gold medalist Bruce Jenner (Decathlon).
Personal
Tai Babilonia was inspired at the age of six to begin ice skating after watching Peggy Fleming on television. Tai Babilonia has a son named Scout with her former husband Cary Butler.
Competitive highlights
(with Gardner)
| 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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 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
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100292/combined
- 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
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