‘96 U.S. Skating Champion Galindo Says He Has HIV

Rudy Galindo, the 1996 U.S. figure skating champion, said he has tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, but intends to keep skating to raise awareness of the disease.

“If my story can help people, anybody at all, it is positive,” Galindo said in Baltimore as he prepared for the opening of the Tom Collins Champions on Ice tour tonight. “I’ve always tried to help people, whether it be as a gay man, or a Mexican-American or now, as someone who is HIV-positive.”

Galindo, 30, began feeling ill at the Winter Goodwill Games in February. He was diagnosed with pneumonia, then found to be HIV-positive on March 1. Alluding to the death of his brother and two coaches from AIDS, Galindo said: “I have to look at . . . how I survived all that and use it for strength.”

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Two-time world pairs champion Yelena Berezhnaya of Russia was suspended for three months, and she and her partner, Anton Sikarulidze, were stripped of their European title for failing a drug test. They withdrew from the World Championships last week, forgoing a defense of their crown, after Berezhnaya tested positive for a banned stimulant she said was taken inadvertently to treat bronchitis. . . . The International Skating Union also suspended lower-ranked Yevgeny Sviridov of Uzbekistan for three months for a similar offense. His partner is Natalia Ponomareva.

College Basketball

Siena Coach Paul Hewitt will be the new coach at Georgia Tech, succeeding Bobby Cremins, according to the Associated Press. Hewitt, 36, who has a 71-27 record in three years at Siena, would become the first black basketball coach at Georgia Tech. Cremins resigned after 19 years and 10 NCAA tournament appearances. . . . Barry Collier, whose Butler team nearly upset NCAA tournament runner-up Florida in the first round, has been hired as Nebraska’s coach, getting a five-year contract with a base salary of $200,000. Collier replaces Danny Nee, who was fired March 13 after 14 seasons at Nebraska.

Pro Football

The Minnesota Vikings ended their relationship with quarterback Jeff George by agreeing to terms with Bubby Brister. “We’ve got a lot of respect for Bubby because of what he did for Denver,” Coach Dennis Green said. “What this means is that Daunte Culpepper is going to start for us.” Brister, waived by Denver last week, will sign a one-year, $500,000 deal Monday. . . . Steve Young’s agent, Leigh Steinberg, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the 49er quarterback has been given a clean bill of health and that his desire is to return to the team for his 16th pro season. Young, 38, was married March 14 and is currently on his honeymoon. . . . The Indianapolis Colts announced they have re-signed Pro Bowl wide receiver Marvin Harrison, reportedly to a four-year deal worth $25.4 million, including an $11.5-million signing bonus. . . . Veteran center Frank Winters signed a multiyear contract with the Green Bay Packers.

Miscellany

The Federal Aviation Administration released three hours of audiotape of air-traffic controllers trying to contact the Learjet that was carrying golfer Payne Stewart when, after leaving Orlando, Fla., it flew cross-country out of control before crashing in South Dakota in October. The last radio message from the plane was a simple acknowledgment from the pilot, “Three nine zero bravo alpha,” after the jet had been cleared to climb to 39,000 feet.

With most of the veterans getting a rest, the U.S. women’s soccer team routed Iceland, 8-0, in a closed-door match at Davidson College in North Carolina. Christie Welch scored three goals.

Germany’s Davis Cup tennis team, which takes on Australia at Adelaide beginning Friday, may have lost Rainer Schutter because of a pulled calf muscle.

Fighting between British and Turkish soccer fans in Istanbul’s main square left two fans dead from stab wounds and at least 11 injured. Hundreds of Leeds United fans arrived in Istanbul to watch their team play Turkey’s Galatasaray in today’s UEFA Cup semifinal.

Former Iowa State wide receiver Kenyatta Burris of Granada Hills, two other former Cyclone football players and an acquaintance were arrested on drug charges in Ames, Iowa, after the car in which they were riding was pulled over for speeding.