Tai Babilonia, of Filipino, African-American and Hopi Indian descent, was born in Hollywood, CA. She and her brother grew up in the Los Angeles area, where at the age of 6, after watching Peggy Fleming float like a butterfly on television, Babilonia convinced her parents to take her ice skating. At 8 years of age she noticed 10-year-old Randy Gardner, who had already been in many competitions By 1973, Babilonia and Gardner were the National Junior Pairs Champions and in 1974, they became the youngest pair ever to represent the United States at the World Championships. By 1976 they won the right to compete at the Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria. Babilonia, then just 16 years old, and Gardner performed admirably, finishing 5th. After winning five U.S. National titles, the duo became the first American pair in 25 years and the only Americans since then to win the 1979 World Champions competition in Vienna, Austria. With the highest score ever for a pairs team, they were the favorites going into the Olympic Games. However, a personal catastrophe was to play itself out in front of millions around the world who watched the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, NY. Within minutes after skating onto the ice to warm up for their first competitive performance, Gardner fell due to the reactivation of a severe groin injury, forcing the couple to withdraw from Olympic competition. The devastating incident was the catalyst to a remarkable turning point in their lives and careers. The image of the crestfallen Babilonia skating off the ice with Gardner struck a chord in the American consciousness and throughout the world.Coming full circle, Babilonia and Gardner skated at the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid in February 2005. Babilonia is a sought-after speaker, alone and with Gardner, and a popular television and radio guest. She has been featured as the subject of an E! True Hollywood Story and in the cable series Where Are They Now? Babilonia supports such worthwhile organizations as CampLaurel, an organization committed to helping children with AIDS, and the Pediatric AIDS Fund. She was recently honored by Figure Skating in Harlem for her support of inner-city children.
