Athletes - Rudy Galindo

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	Athletes - Rudy Galindo

Val Joe "Rudy" Galindo (born September 7, 1969 in San Jose, California) is an American figure skater. He skated pairs with Kristi Yamaguchi, winning the 1988 World Junior Championship and the U.S. senior championships in 1989 and 1990. He also won the 1987 World Junior Championship in singles before temporarily giving up on singles competition in order to concentrate on pairs. After his partnership with Yamaguchi broke up in 1990, Galindo returned to singles competition. In 1996, Galindo won the men's title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at the San Jose Arena in San Jose, becoming the oldest male to win this title in almost 50 years. Some people thought that his victory was a fluke since his best previous finish was 5th at the 1993 championships. He followed this unexpected win with a bronze medal at the 1996 World Championships.

Galindo retired from eligible competition in the summer of 1996. After being diagnosed as HIV positive and recovering from hip surgery, Rudy continues to tour with the Tom Collins' Champions on Ice show.

Galindo disclosed his homosexuality in Christine Brennan's book Inside Edge: A Revealing Journey Into the Secret World of Figure Skating, which was published shortly before he won his national title in 1996.

During the 2006 Winter Olympics, Galindo caused a controversy by challenging the news media to publicly "out" 21-year-old American skater Johnny Weir, who was competing in the Games. He stated that he disliked Weir for allegedly "copying" his skating style. The media promptly questioned Weir about his sexuality at a news conference after his short program, when he stood in second place, but he declined to answer, saying that who he slept with had nothing to do with what he did on the ice. There was an immediate media uproar, and there was some speculation that it contributed to Weir losing all concentration in the free skate the next day, skating poorly and finishing in fifth place.

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