The pair became five-time U.S. national champions and won the gold medal at the 1979 World Championships.

[3][4] They were medal favorites at the 1980 Winter Olympics but were forced to withdraw due to a thigh injury to Gardner,which ended their competitive careers.

[7] In 2006, Gardner appeared as a choreographer on the reality television series Skating with Celebrities.

[10][6] Gardner discovered in 1998 that he was adopted after a relative divulged the family secret.

[2][10] After a five-year search, he found his birth mother who had become pregnant with him at age 17 after being raped by a family friend.