John Baldwin | ||||||||||||||||
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Rena Inoue and John Baldwin
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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
Full name | John Baldwin, Jr. | |||||||||||||||
Country represented | United States | |||||||||||||||
Born |
Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
October 18, 1973 |||||||||||||||
Residence | Santa Monica, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||
Partner | Rena Inoue | |||||||||||||||
Former partner | Tristan Colell | |||||||||||||||
Former coach |
Jenni Meno Todd Sand Philipp Mills Peter Oppegard Oksana Grishuk Jill Watson |
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Former choreographer |
Oksana Grishuk Philipp Mills |
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Skating club | All Year FSC | |||||||||||||||
Began skating | 1975 | |||||||||||||||
Retired | 2010 | |||||||||||||||
ISU personal best scores | ||||||||||||||||
Combined total | 183.17 2006 Worlds |
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Short program | 61.73 2007 Four Continents |
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Free skate | 122.27 2006 Worlds |
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Medal record
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John Baldwin, Jr. (born October 18, 1973) is an American figure skater. With partner Rena Inoue, he is a two-time U.S. national champion. Inoue and Baldwin are the first skaters to perform a throw triple axel in competition.
Baldwin was born in Dallas, Texas. His parents were both skating coaches. His father, John Baldwin Sr., competed as a single skater in the 1960s. His brother Don Baldwin competed in singles as well.
Baldwin proposed to his skating partner Rena Inoue in January 2008. They had a baby girl in November 2011.
John Baldwin originally competed in both singles and pairs. With partner Tristan Colell, he competed at the World Junior Championships.
Baldwin was a veteran single skater, having competed at every national championship from his win at the novice level in 1987 through 2000. His best finish at Nationals as a senior was 9th in 1995. He won the 1995 national gold medal in compulsory figures.
His father, who was a skating coach, arranged a tryout between Baldwin and Rena Inoue, a Japanese skater living in America. Inoue and Baldwin tried out and agreed to form the partnership. They began competing together in 2000.
They placed 11th at the 2001 U.S. Championships. The following season, they won the pewter medal at the 2002 U.S. Championships. They were sent to the 2002 Four Continents, their first international competition together, and placed 7th.
In the 2002–2003 season, Inoue / Baldwin competed on the Grand Prix circuit for the first time. Returning to Nationals, they won the bronze medal. They withdrew from the 2003 Four Continents, but placed 10th at the 2003 World Championships.