One of the best — if not the best — American figure skaters is Adam Rippon. He has won a great number of championships during his time. His most prominent wins include becoming the 2016 US National Champion as well as the 2010 Four Continents Champion. He won several junior competitions as well. Adam Rippon was selected to serve on the US Olympic team for the 2018 Winter Olympics. You may have heard his name come up in recent news as he clashed with Donald Trump Jr. on Twitter.
The two were arguing over Rippon calling out Mike Pence on his stance on gay rights. Trump Jr. stated that Pence never even said a thing about Adam Rippon — however, he actually did just a week ago. Either way, this little feud is sure to end in Rippon’s favor, especially due to Trump Jr.’s inaccurate statements regarding the vice president. This wonderfully-talented skater has made waves in this year’s Olympics. On a personal level, he is also worth getting to know a little bit better. If you are going to follow this figure skater, check out these Five Things You Didn’t Know about Adam Rippon.
He Has Made Strides in the Gay Community
Adam Rippon initially came out as gay in 2015. Since then, he has become one of the first openly gay males to compete in the Winter Olympics for America — and became the first to take home an accolade with his Bronze Medal Win. He is also using his fame to advance his platform and advocate for equal treatment and rights for homosexual individuals.
He Was Born with Severe Hearing Loss
When Rippon was born, he had less than 20% of his hearing. Luckily, a surgery performed at Yale University allowed him to regain most of his ability to hear. Today, his ears function nearly 100% perfectly — a testament to the skills of those at Yale.
He Started Skating at Ten Years Old
This figure skater has skating in his blood — his mother also used to love to skate. In fact, she would often take him along when she visited the rink and encourage him to participate. Though he didn’t really like skating at first, it began to grow on him. Now, he has been skating for 18 years. His siblings are also athletes — one brother is in track, while another two of his siblings participate in gymnastics.
He Loves Oprah
Rippon has expressed admiration for Oprah. He loves how confident she is and how it is so easy for her to talk to anybody. As he grew older and wiser, he realized that the key to self-confidence was to stop caring about what others think. This is pretty clear in his most recent interviews — he is a witty, sassy, and highly-quotable individual who offers great entertainment value alongside excellent sports performance. He even called himself America’s Sweetheart when discussing his newfound fame with his friends.
He Used to Live in Poverty
When Adam Rippon began taking figure skating very seriously, he ended up moving to Los Angeles to train with Rafael Arutyunyan — a famous skating coach. However, he spent most of his time in the City of Angels with very little cash to his name. Rippon even ended up staying in Arutyunyan’s basement and stealing apples from the gym because he couldn’t afford groceries. This is a far cry from his current Olympian status — and he likely won’t find himself in such dire straits ever again.
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