Rudy Galindo
Figure skater writer Ellyn Kestnbaum states that Brennan must have not been paying attention to Galindo's practices during the 1995 Nationals, when he was ill with asthmatic bronchitis but was one of the best spinners in the competition.[1] In January 1996, he won the men's title at the U.S. Championships at the San Jose Arena in a performance that has become legendary in the skating world.Kestnbaum reports that the national media did not notice him until he won the title, stating that he garnered more attention than skaters like Eldredge and Davis, who had more clean-cut images than Galindo.[7] The press also reported on Galindo's "triumph-over-tragedy human interest angle"[6] of his story, as well as the fact that he was the first Mexican American champion and the first openly-gay U.S.[8] Brennan stated that Galindo deserved the title and should have earned more points in his short program, citing it "as further evidence of the arbitrary and political nature of figure skating judging".After he won the bronze medal at World's, however, he focused on gay issues directly in his skating, including wearing a red scarf in the shape of a large AIDS ribbon around his neck during the Ave Maria program.He underwent hip replacement surgery in August 2003 after finishing the season's tour with a broken femur on his left side.[1] In 1996 he came out as gay in Christine Brennan's book Inside Edge: A Revealing Journey Into the Secret World of Figure Skating (ISBN 0-385-48607-3), which was published shortly before he won his national title that year.[20] Kestnbaum states, about Galindo: "[He] proved that the American public could embrace a gay skater as a national sports hero".