Val Joe "Rudy" Galindo is an American former competitive figure skater who competed in both single skating and pair skating. As a single skater, he is the 1996 U.S. national champion, 1987 World Junior Champion, and 1996 World Bronze medalist. As a pairs skater, he competed with Kristi Yamaguchi and was the 1988 World Junior Champion and the 1989 and 1990 U.S. National Champion. He is the first openly gay skating champion in the United States, though US, World and Olympic champion Brian Boitano came out long after his career was over.
The U.S. Figure Skating Championships is a figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals". Medals are currently awarded in four disciplines: men's (boys') singles, ladies' (girls') singles, pair skating, and ice dancing in four colors: gold (first), silver (second), bronze (third), and pewter (fourth) on two levels, senior and junior. Medals were previously given at the novice, intermediate, and juvenile levels. The event is also used to determine the U.S. teams for the World Championships, World Junior Championships, Four Continents Championships, and Winter Olympics, however, U.S. Figure Skating reserves the right to consider other results.
Todd Sand is an American pair skater. With his wife Jenni Meno, he is the 1998 World silver medalist, a two-time World bronze medalist, and a three-time U.S. national champion (1994–96). With his previous partner Natasha Kuchiki, he is the 1991 World bronze medalist.
Zhang Hao is a Chinese retired pair skater. With current partner Yu Xiaoyu, he is the 2016–17 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, 2017 Asian Winter Games champion and 2018 Chinese national champion. With former partner Peng Cheng, he is the 2015 Four Continents silver medalist. With former partner Zhang Dan, he is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a four-time World medalist, and a two-time Four Continents champion.
Tong Jian is a Chinese retired pair skater. With his wife Pang Qing, he is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, 2006 and 2010 World Champion, a five-time Four Continents champion and the 2008 Grand Prix Final Champion.
Pang Qing is a Chinese retired pair skater. With her husband Tong Jian, she is the 2010 Olympic silver medalist, the 2006 and 2010 World Champion, a five-time Four Continents champion and the 2008 Grand Prix Final Champion.
Kris Wirtz is a Canadian former pair skater. With Kristy Sargeant, he is the 1999 Four Continents silver medallist, the 1994 Skate Canada International champion, and a two-time Canadian national champion. The pair competed at two Winter Olympics.
Figure skating is a sport with participants across the world. Originally based in North America and Europe, the sport has experienced a major expansion in the countries of East Asia. The international governing body of the sport is the International Skating Union (ISU). Only those nations which are members of the International Skating Union are allowed to compete in the figure skating events in the Olympic Games.
Ryan Scott Bradley is an American former competitive figure skater. He is the 2008 Skate Canada International silver medalist, the 2009 Skate America bronze medalist, the 2011 U.S. national champion, and a three-time U.S. Collegiate champion.
Vladislav Vladimirovich Zhovnirski is a Russian pair skating coach and former competitor. With Victoria Maxiuta, he is the 1996 World Junior champion, 1997 Ondrej Nepela Memorial champion, 1998 Skate America bronze medalist, and 1999 Winter Universiade champion.
Andrei Vasilievich Bushkov is a Russian former pair skater who represented the Soviet Union until its fall, and, after that, Russia. With partner Marina Eltsova, he is the 1996 World champion and a two-time European champion.
Alexander König is a German figure skating coach and former competitor. Competing in pairs with Peggy Schwarz, he became the 1988 European bronze medalist and placed seventh at three Winter Olympics. As a single skater, he is the 1982 World Junior bronze medalist.
Rico Rex is a German former pair skater. With former partner Eva-Maria Fitze, he is the 2003 German national champion.
The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion.
The International Skating Union organizes six annual Championships for figure skating. It is at the discretion of each member country which skaters, pairs or synchronized skating teams are sent to which championship.
Kenneth Gene Shelley is an American figure skater who competed in both singles and pairs. As a single skater, he won the 1972 United States Figure Skating Championships and placed 4th at the 1972 Winter Olympics. His highest placement at the World Figure Skating Championships was a single skater was 7th, in 1972. As a pair skater, he competed with JoJo Starbuck, with whom he is a three-time National Champion. Starbuck and Shelley competed in two Olympic Games, placing 13th in 1968 and 4th in 1972, and won two bronze medals at the World Figure Skating Championships. When they made the 1968 Olympic team, they were the youngest athletes the United States had ever sent to the Olympics.
Ralph Scott McCreath was a Canadian figure skater who competed in single skating, pair skating, ice dancing, and fours. He competed in pairs with Veronica Clarke, Norah McCarthy, Eleanor O'Meara, Bunty Lang, and Betty Chambers, and in fours with fours with Dorothy Caley, Hazel Caley, and Montgomery Wilson, winning the 1939 North American title.
The 1997 World Junior Figure Skating Championships was a figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which younger figure skaters competed for the title of World Junior Champion. It was held from November 24 to December 1, 1996 in Seoul, South Korea. Due to the large number of participants, the men's and ladies' qualifying groups were split into groups A and B.
The 1998 World Junior Figure Skating Championships were held in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada between November 30 and December 7, 1997. Younger figure skaters competed for the title of World Junior Champion.
The 2022 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships was held from January 3–9, 2022 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, pairs, and ice dance at the senior and junior levels. The results were part of the U.S. selection criteria for the 2022 World Championships, 2022 World Junior Championships, the 2022 Four Continents Championship, and the 2022 Winter Olympics.
