Tai Babilonia is an #American pair skater & entrepreneur. She & #RandyGardner won the 1979 World Figure Skating Championships & 5 US Figure Skating Championships. They qualified for the 1976 & 1980 Winter Olympics. Shes one of the greatest figure skaters of all time. When they won Worlds, they were the first Americans to do so in 29 years & no US pair since has won the title. They were favored to win Gold at the 1980 Olympics but had to withdraw due to a last minute injury to Randy. They still had a successful career in spite of, skating for 3 years as special guest stars with the #IceCapades, performing on numerous skating tours, countless tv specials & in the most prestigious venues worldwide, including a special appearance for Queen Elizabeth & White House guests of Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan & Clinton. A tv movie about her life debuted in 1990 & they were inducted into the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1991. They published a book called Forever Two As One. She even skated with Bruce Jenner on Skating With Celebrities. They retired in 2008. Shes designed skating attire, her own line of chocolates & a collection of one of a kind hand-made crystal jewelry boxes. Outspoken & honest about her struggles with alcoholism, eating disorders & a suicide attempt, shes an advocate/mentor for mental health & people struggling with addiction. “Don’t be afraid to reach out. There are many programs for all addictions & know that you are not alone” Shes the 1st figure skater of partial #AfricanAmerican descent to compete for the US at Olympics & win world titles. Shes also #Filipino & #Hopi #NativeAmerican. “They say Im the 1st black skater to win & I’ll go, no, do your homework. My Filipino dad would say, hey, don’t I count for any part of this? I’m #multiracial & proud of that” “I did see people look at my family with very confused looks on their faces. We definitely stood out among the predominately white skating crowd. Remember, this was the 70s & you didn’t see many #multiethnic families. People put me in whatever ethnic box they wanted. As I got older I understood the impact I had on future skaters of color.” 🇵🇭🇺🇸🏴 #aapiheritagemonth #aapi #mixedgirl https://www.instagram.com/p/CAYvD5pFtGr/?igshid=120hzf8aiz89s
