In figure skating, the costume is everything
Some skaters even have a charm sewn into the lining of their costumes or wear something for good luck. Babilonia's charm was a crescent-moon pendant given to her by singer Stevie Nicks, who was with Fleetwood Mac at the time.
Babilonia wore the pendant on a chain and took it off only once - the night she and Gardner were to compete in the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. - at the request of her coach, who thought it might get caught in the rhinestones on her costume. The skaters later withdrew from competition because of Gardner's leg injury.
Since then, Babilonia has never removed the necklace.
"Somethings are just not meant to be," she said. "People saw, the world saw, that we were humans. The world saw that my partner was injured and helpless. So, those fans that embraced us back then are still embracing us now. Winning the gold is great, but to have all the fans embrace us was pretty great, too. … I wouldn't change a thing because we're still together."
Babilonia and Garner will celebrate the 50th anniversary of skating together at a ceremony at Los Angeles City Hall this month.
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