| Tai Babilonia | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Tai Reina Babilonia | |||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented | United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | September 22, 1959 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.59 m (5 ft 3 in) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Former partner | Randy Gardner | |||||||||||||||||||
| Former coach | John Nicks | |||||||||||||||||||
| Skating club | Los Angeles FSC | |||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 1980 | |||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||
.svg.png "Gold medal – first place"){kind=icon}
.svg.png "Bronze medal – third place"){kind=icon}
Tai Reina Babilonia (born September 22, 1959) is an American former pair skater. Together with Randy Gardner, she won the 1979 World Figure Skating Championships and five U.S. Figure Skating Championships (1976–1980). The pair qualified for the 1976 and 1980 Winter Olympics.[1]
Career
Babilonia and Gardner began skating together at eight and ten years old when skating coach Mabel Fairbanks needed a young pair team for a skating show in Culver City, California.[2] Their coach from 1971 until 1980 was 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 an injury to Gardner.[1][2][5]
Babilonia was the first figure skater of partial African American descent to compete for the United States at Olympics and win world titles. She is also part Filipino on her father's side and part Native American.[1][6]
In 1990, a biographical film of her rise to fame was aired on television, On Thin Ice: The Tai Babilonia Story.[7]
Babilonia appeared in the 2006 Fox television program Skating with Celebrities, partnered with Olympic decathlon gold medalist Bruce Jenner.
Babilonia and Gardner also appeared on an episode of Hart to Hart "Silent Dance" (season 5 episode 16) in 1984.
Personal
Babilonia was inspired at the age of six to begin ice skating after watching Peggy Fleming on television. Babilonia has a son named Scout with former husband Cary Butler. She was engaged for several years to actor and comedian David Brenner, but they never married before their breakup in 2011.
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
- ^ a b c Tai Babilonia. Sports-reference
- ^ 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. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 5, 2013.
- ^ "Past U.S. Champions - Senior" (PDF). Excel Energy Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 9, 2012.
- ^ Rosewater, Amy (January 14, 2013). "A life in skating: An interview with John Nicks". IceNetwork.
- ^ Notable Filipinos Worldwide. notablefilipinos.com
- ^ On Thin Ice: The Tai Babilonia Story (1990). IMDb
External links
- "Skate Canada Results Book - Volume 1 - 1896 - 1973" (PDF). Skate Canada. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 22, 2010.
- "Skate Canada Results Book - Volume 2 - 1974 - current" (PDF). Skate Canada. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2009.