Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner

This subject has probably been written about numerous times, and please excuse me for bringing it up again. I was viewing one of my videotapes and again watched the coverage from the 1980 Winter Olympics, held in Lake Placid, New York.

Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner came to the Olympics as the reigning US and World champions. They had won the World title in 1979 (after finished third in 1977 and 1978), in part due to the absence of Rodnina and Zeitzev, the longtime Soviet World pairs champions who did not compete in the 1979 season due to the birth of their first child.

Tai and Randy were the heavy sentimental favorites. I remember well watching the competition on LIVE television, which showed the short program warm-up. Dick Button and Jim McKay were commenting as they and several other pairs practiced some jumps, spins, and footwork. They attempted a throw double axel, and Tai hit the ice. It appeared that Randy did not lift her high enough to propel her into her rotations. They regrouped and again, had a disastrous through double axel attempt. Button and McKay expressed concern and wondered if anything was wrong - were they injured? They skated to the boards, conferred with their coach, John Nicks, and then Randy skated out alone and attempted a double lutz. He crashed on the ice, and everyone in the arena moaned. Clearly, something was terribly wrong. Button said, "My heart is in my throat", and McKay responded, "I can hear it." Shortly thereafter, the announcement was made that Tai and Randy had withdrawn. Button very eloquently said (sic), "I don't feel sorry because they're Americans. I feel sorry because they have trained so hard and so long for this moment, and now when they finally had the opportunity to show the world what they can do, this happens."

The reaction to the withdraw was immediate. President Jimmy Carter called Tai and Randy to express his sympathy and concern. Tai and Randy were flooded with telegrams of good wishes and concern. I called Western Union and sent Tai and Randy a telegram, and the operator told me she had sent "many" telegrams to them.

Tai and Randy were such a fabulous pairs team. They were about the same height, and Randy had the strength to lift Tai, throw her, all with ease.

I saw them at Ice Capades several times in the early 1980s. The first number they skated was the short program they would have skated at Lake Placid, had Randy not been injured. It was great! The audience responded with long, standing ovation.

This is funny I have a tape where its the 1980 1984 coverage together and just yesterday I wanted to pinpoint where the figure skating was so I could just FF to that covreage and I watched the coverage of them withdraw and their withdrawl was terrible. It's like one of the great "what would it have been like if they competed" things in history. R/Z probably would have definitely won again but still what could have been. Him falling several times and her crying as they withdraw and Button all choked up. They were right there. I have seen clips of them in 1979 worlds and they were the BIG moves team. I also read an article from SI about them versus R/Z and even though I didn't like R/Z could just carry her baby around and win comment in the article it was basically good.

It was all completely heart breaking. I recall reading afterwards that Randy and their coach John Nicks made the decision to hide from Tai the fact that he had injured his groin. Their decision to numb up his leg from the pain must have been so difficult for them to make, but it became so obvious that her safety was at issue in moves such as their required star lift. They had beautiful side by side double flips and spins reflecting how both had actually done quite well as singles skaters up through the senior level.

I read that Randy Gardner injured his groin during the US Nationals held the month before the Olympics and then had re-injured the groin during practice at the Olympics. He and coach John Nicks did "hide" the injury from Tai, as they did not want her to panic (that's how she put it in a television interview). I'm not sure how Randy managed to "hide" his injury during practice - perhaps he somehow managed to skate through the pain, and that must have been very difficult. The primary concern, aside from seriously aggravating the injury even more, was Tai's safety. With an injured groin, there was no guarantee that Randy would have the strength to lift Tai and/or throw her into her throw jumps. There could have been two seriously injured skaters, which really would have been a disaster.

My heart really went out to Tai and Randy.

Not many people know that the Protopopov's were providing "advice and counsel" to Tai and Randy before Lake Placid.
They might well have given Rodnina and Zeitsev "a run for their money", at least.
It[s a shame that they didn't have a chance to try.

It was heartbreaking to watch. Even now it is painful to think about. Tai and Randy probably couldn't have beat Rodnina and Zaitsev to the gold ever, but they were almost a shoo-in for the podium (they'd already won two world bronzes) and could have made it all the way to silver. When we learned later the extent of Randy's injury (I think by that time two muscles were involved), we were amazed that he could stand up at all with his numbed leg.

They were a John Nicks couple. He must have been some pairs coach, because his previous pair, JoJo Starbuck and Ken Shelley, also won bronzes at Worlds and came close to medaling at the 1972 Olympics. Randy Gardner and Ken Shelley were especially impressive partners because both of them were rather small, while both Tai and JoJo were unusually tall, so the guys each had to lift someone almost their own height.

Interestingly, both pairs also competed as singles skaters. Ken Shelley was especially impressive. This was before my time, but apparently in 1972 he was both U.S. singles champion and U.S. pairs champion. AND he was fourth in the Olympics in both disciplines that year, and won a bronze medal in Worlds with Starbuck. I blink in disbelief every time I read that. Does anyone here have any memories or evaluations of him to offer?

Actually, they had won a World gold, the previous season (1978/1979) when Rodnina was having her baby, as well as bronzes in the two seasons before that. So yes, they had a good chance at the silver, and might even have won the gold if Rodnina had faltered at all.

Olympia said:

Randy Gardner and Ken Shelley were especially impressive partners because both of them were rather small, while both Tai and JoJo were unusually tall, so the guys each had to lift someone almost their own height.

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And the same applies to the German pair Kilius & Baumler as well. They were not lifting tiny girls...

Yes, it was very sad that they could not compete at the Olympics as regning World champions surely they would have been on the podium with a silver medal. As far as I remember from the live broadcast as they were on the ice, Babilonia took their withdrawal veeeery badly.

dorispulaski said:

Actually, they had won a World gold, the previous season (1978/1979) when Rodnina was having her baby, as well as bronzes in the two seasons before that. So yes, they had a good chance at the silver, and might even have won the gold if Rodnina had faltered at all.

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Important to mention; thanks, Doris!

The reason I left it out was that it wouldn't have presaged an Olympic gold since it was won in the absence of Rodnina/Zaitsev, the greatest pair of the era. I mentioned the two bronzes as reflective of B/G's prior consistency--the gold was a fluke, in a way, but their being on the World podium wasn't a fluke by any means, and they could certainly have been on the Olympic podium.

At the time, being young and naive, I dreamed that they might win gold if they had been skating healthy, but looking back, I think it highly unlikely that Rodnina would ever falter. That lady was all guts. Still, an American Olympic silver in pairs would have been an astonishing achievement. The Carrutherses earned one in 1984, but I can't recall another one that we ever got, at least not after World War II. Am I forgetting anyone? We have an Olympic bronze or two. Tai and Randy's reputation (two World bronzes plus being current world champions) added to the home field advantage of being in Lake Placid might have assured them of a silver if they had skated well.

Yes, Babilonia took it hard. I think it took her a few years to work her way through that disappointment.

Ken Shelley as a single skater:

1972 Nationals LP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFuqkv7CQaI

1981 China Exhibition Ken Shelley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZl47cSOhu0