100 Skating Moments #1
Apr. 17th, 2012 10:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
helsinkibabySo after seeing it everywhere on my friends list, there is this.
{Take the 100 Things challenge!}
And in a fit of insanity (and also thinking of a topic I could blog about and coming up with a list of 50 without breaking much of a sweat) I'm signing up for it.
I'm going to be blogging about 100 Skating Moments That Everyone Should See, Good Bad and Absolutely Gawd-Awful, though I'm going in with the caveat that these are based only on my opinion and your mileage may, as always, vary. YouTube links will be provided where I can find them!
That being said, post number one had to be about this --
Rudy Galindo wins 1996 US Nationals
To put this event into its proper context, in 1996 I was in my second year of teacher training college. The internet was then but an abstract concept, only beginning to make its way into public consciousness in Ireland. (Indeed, it would be a year and more before I experienced the wonders of the internet, on a college computers elective, and a year and a half before we had it at home.) Eurosport, at the time, were doing a pretty comprehensive coverage of the Grand Prix, which was in its inaugural year, and even the BBC would show Euros and Worlds. (I know, totally different world, right?) That being said, a lot of my skating news was still obtained by hopping off the bus to college, heading straight for the shop on the corner and having a quick flick through the copy of USA Today that they had on the newsrack on the front of the shop.
That's how I found out that Rudy Galino was the new US National Champion.
My reaction was typically Irish. "Ye wha?" (Translation: You What? Further non phonetical translation: What in the ever loving *fuck* happened?"
Because I knew the name Rudy Galindo, though I knew it spelled R-U-D-I. I knew that he was Kristi Yamaguchi's former pairs partner, the one she'd been with when she did double duty at worlds in 1990, the one that she stopped skating with before winning the Olympic gold medal in 1992, the one I'd not seen sign nor light of since then. I'd never heard of him as a singles skater (remember, in those days I only heard of the ones who were at worlds/whatever GP event Eurosport showed, back when it was still the Champions Series). Furthermore, the US had Todd Eldredge, who'd had a banner comeback year the previous year, including a world silver medal. They had two time champion Scott Davis.
And yet, Rudy Galindo was the champion.
Thanks to US Today and Christine Brennan, I, and soon the world, found out about Rudy Galindo.
The first (and as of yet, only) skater to come out of the closet while still competing as an amateur.
Whose first coach with Kristi Yamaguchi, Jim Hulick, died of AIDS. Who lost his second coach, Rick Inglesi, and his brother George, to the same disease. Who lost his father to a heart attack, the latter three bereavements coming in the four years since Kristi Yamaguchi had stopped skating with him. Kristi Yamaguchi, the partner who had risen to skating megastardom since winning the Olympics.
Rudy Galindo, who had never competed well at Nationals as a singles skater, who was considered a has-been. Who was living in a trailer park with his mother, who barely went outside the door. Rudy Galindo who was flat broke, who was coaching to make ends meet.
Who, in 1995, had given up his sport.
Then realised that in 1996, Nationals were in San Jose. His home town.
And decided to give it one more shot.
He basically trained himself, with the help of his sister Laura. Who designed his own costume, and for the long in particular changed his style completely, eschewing outfits that normally Johnny Weir would reject as too flamboyant for something far more simple and elegant.
He was written off, even though his practices got good buzz, even though he wasn't in the official event media guide. Even though he placed a surprise third in the short program.
When he drew to skate last in the free program, few expected anything. Then one by one, the favourites faltered, and by the time Rudy came out to skate, no-one had gone clean. Everyone expected him to follow suit, to fold, to choke.
What we got? Was magic.
The crowd reaction, his sister's reaction, his reaction when the scores come up are some of the best moments in the sport. (Seriously, you thought Takahashi and Tran in Nice 2012 was epic kiss and cry? This wrote the book!) Whenever I need a pick me up, this is what I look at - one of my favourite skating moments in the history of ever.
{Take the 100 Things challenge!}
And in a fit of insanity (and also thinking of a topic I could blog about and coming up with a list of 50 without breaking much of a sweat) I'm signing up for it.
I'm going to be blogging about 100 Skating Moments That Everyone Should See, Good Bad and Absolutely Gawd-Awful, though I'm going in with the caveat that these are based only on my opinion and your mileage may, as always, vary. YouTube links will be provided where I can find them!
That being said, post number one had to be about this --
Rudy Galindo wins 1996 US Nationals
To put this event into its proper context, in 1996 I was in my second year of teacher training college. The internet was then but an abstract concept, only beginning to make its way into public consciousness in Ireland. (Indeed, it would be a year and more before I experienced the wonders of the internet, on a college computers elective, and a year and a half before we had it at home.) Eurosport, at the time, were doing a pretty comprehensive coverage of the Grand Prix, which was in its inaugural year, and even the BBC would show Euros and Worlds. (I know, totally different world, right?) That being said, a lot of my skating news was still obtained by hopping off the bus to college, heading straight for the shop on the corner and having a quick flick through the copy of USA Today that they had on the newsrack on the front of the shop.
That's how I found out that Rudy Galino was the new US National Champion.
My reaction was typically Irish. "Ye wha?" (Translation: You What? Further non phonetical translation: What in the ever loving *fuck* happened?"
Because I knew the name Rudy Galindo, though I knew it spelled R-U-D-I. I knew that he was Kristi Yamaguchi's former pairs partner, the one she'd been with when she did double duty at worlds in 1990, the one that she stopped skating with before winning the Olympic gold medal in 1992, the one I'd not seen sign nor light of since then. I'd never heard of him as a singles skater (remember, in those days I only heard of the ones who were at worlds/whatever GP event Eurosport showed, back when it was still the Champions Series). Furthermore, the US had Todd Eldredge, who'd had a banner comeback year the previous year, including a world silver medal. They had two time champion Scott Davis.
And yet, Rudy Galindo was the champion.
Thanks to US Today and Christine Brennan, I, and soon the world, found out about Rudy Galindo.
The first (and as of yet, only) skater to come out of the closet while still competing as an amateur.
Whose first coach with Kristi Yamaguchi, Jim Hulick, died of AIDS. Who lost his second coach, Rick Inglesi, and his brother George, to the same disease. Who lost his father to a heart attack, the latter three bereavements coming in the four years since Kristi Yamaguchi had stopped skating with him. Kristi Yamaguchi, the partner who had risen to skating megastardom since winning the Olympics.
Rudy Galindo, who had never competed well at Nationals as a singles skater, who was considered a has-been. Who was living in a trailer park with his mother, who barely went outside the door. Rudy Galindo who was flat broke, who was coaching to make ends meet.
Who, in 1995, had given up his sport.
Then realised that in 1996, Nationals were in San Jose. His home town.
And decided to give it one more shot.
He basically trained himself, with the help of his sister Laura. Who designed his own costume, and for the long in particular changed his style completely, eschewing outfits that normally Johnny Weir would reject as too flamboyant for something far more simple and elegant.
He was written off, even though his practices got good buzz, even though he wasn't in the official event media guide. Even though he placed a surprise third in the short program.
When he drew to skate last in the free program, few expected anything. Then one by one, the favourites faltered, and by the time Rudy came out to skate, no-one had gone clean. Everyone expected him to follow suit, to fold, to choke.
What we got? Was magic.
The crowd reaction, his sister's reaction, his reaction when the scores come up are some of the best moments in the sport. (Seriously, you thought Takahashi and Tran in Nice 2012 was epic kiss and cry? This wrote the book!) Whenever I need a pick me up, this is what I look at - one of my favourite skating moments in the history of ever.
