137 Facts About Surya Bonaly

Surya Bonaly is a three-time World silver medalist, a five-time European champion, the 1991 World Junior Champion, and a nine-time French national champion.

Surya Bonaly had a long and successful career as a professional figure skater, performing in ice shows all over the world and winning many professional competitions.

Surya Bonaly probably performed her signature backflip 500 times as a professional, to audiences of 15,000 people.

Surya Bonaly became a coach in Las Vegas, Colorado, Minnesota, and Switzerland.

Surya Bonaly was the second black female skater, after American Debi Thomas, "to reach the international elite".

Surya Bonaly was called "the most successful black skater in the history of the sport".

Surya Varuna Claudine Bonaly was born in Nice, France, on 15 December 1973.

Suzanne Surya Bonaly said that they adopted a poor, nonwhite baby because "they are the babies no one takes".

Surya Bonaly's coach, Didier Gailhaguet, told reporters early in Surya Bonaly's figure skating career that she had been born in Reunion and was abandoned as a baby on the beach, that she had been raised on a macrobiotic diet, and that the 17-inch ponytail she had at the 1992 Olympics had never been cut.

Surya Bonaly later found that her biological mother was from Reunion and that her biological father was from Ivory Coast.

Surya Bonaly began gymnastics training from her mother when she was two years old and won a silver medal for the trampoline in team tumbling at the 1986 Tumbling World Championships when she was 12 years old.

Surya Bonaly began figure skating at the age of 12, when she successfully completed her first triple jump.

Gailhaguet discovered Surya Bonaly and invited her to train with him in Paris; her mother accompanied her there and her father stayed in Nice.

Surya Bonaly later told BBC's Outlook Podcast in 2019 that they lived in her parents' van and were "almost homeless".

Surya Bonaly made the French national team within a year.

Surya Bonaly came in seventh place at Blue Swords, a junior-level competition in Germany, in 1987.

At the 1988 Trophee Lalique, Surya Bonaly came in seventh place.

Surya Bonaly came in third place at the 1989 World Junior Championships and won the gold medal for the first time at the 1989 French National Championships in December 1988.

Surya Bonaly came in eighth place at the 1989 European Championships and in 10th place at the 1989 World Championships.

Surya Bonaly again won the gold medal at the French Nationals and came in second place at Junior Worlds.

Surya Bonaly came in seventh place at the 1989 Trophee Lalique, in fourth place at Europeans, and in ninth place at Worlds.

Surya Bonaly was the first French female skater to successfully complete five triple jumps out of the seven jumps required in the free skate.

Surya Bonaly later told reporters that it was the first time she did not fall while attempting the quad.

Surya Bonaly performed a backflip for the audience during the awards ceremony.

Surya Bonaly came in fifth place at the 1990 Skate America, in third place at the 1990 Skate Electric, and won the gold medal at the 1990 Grand Prix International de Paris and at the 1990 Nebelhorn Trophy.

Surya Bonaly won the gold medal at the 1991 World Junior Championships in Budapest, Hungary, her final junior appearance.

Surya Bonaly came in fifth place at the 1991 Worlds Championships.

Surya Bonaly attempted a quad jump during her free skate, but it was underrotated; she was so sure that she had landed it cleanly that she threw up her arms in excitement, tripped, and "belly flopped on the ice", as The New York Times put it, "for no apparent reason".

In 1991, Surya Bonaly won Skate Canada and the Grand Prix de St Gervais.

Surya Bonaly came in second place at the NHK Trophy, in third place at Skate America, and in fifth place at the Grand Prix de France.

In January 1992, Surya Bonaly again won the gold medal at the European Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland, with "a cautious performance that was still good enough to win".

Surya Bonaly finished before German skaters Marina Kielmann and Patricia Neske, who came in second and third places, respectfully.

Surya Bonaly did not attempt her quad jump during the free skate, when she portrayed a bullfight in which the bull is spared, but was able to successfully complete five clean triple jumps.

Surya Bonaly won the gold medal at French Nationals again.

In February 1992, Surya Bonaly competed in the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.

Surya Bonaly said later that it was her favorite Olympics because it was her first one and because it took place in her home country.

Susan Du later reported that Gailhaguet never lodged a complaint against Surya Bonaly, but blamed Suzanne Surya Bonaly for their dispute.

Surya Bonaly's mother was furious about the warning, but passed it along to her daughter, who obeyed their demand.

Surya Bonaly later told reporters that she lost her concentration and felt "rattled right before going on the ice" because her mother was not allowed near the ice and because she and Gailhaguet disagreed about attempting the quad jump; he later reported that he told her not to attempt the quad jump, but that she did it, anyway.

Surya Bonaly stated that Bonaly's mother had "made some enormous tactical errors, like changing Surya's Olympic long program at the last minute".

Surya Bonaly came sixth place in the free skate and came in fifth place overall.

Surya Bonaly started working with Andre Brunet, an interim coach appointed by the French federation; according to The New York Times, they worked together for "an unsettling, contentious month".

Surya Bonaly concluded her season at the 1992 World Championships in Oakland, California.

Surya Bonaly later criticized Brunet's coaching style and said that "Oakland was the pits".

From April to September 1992, Surya Bonaly was coached mainly by her mother.

Susanne Surya Bonaly later said that they considered Surya Bonaly changing nationalities, but chose not to because they could not afford it, although there were reports that they could afford it.

The Times stated that by the time Surya Bonaly arrived in California to train with Carroll, she was more receptive, hardworking, and cooperative.

Surya Bonaly advised her to "appeal to the judges' sense of good skating and put her own aesthetics aside" by giving up on accomplishing the quad, stop doing her backflip in front of judges, and by cutting her ponytail.

Carroll stated that the language barrier between him and Surya Bonaly's mother helped the quality of their relationship.

Giletti stated that Bonaly's improvement was due to better artistic expression, more self-confidence, and a better environment, adding that "the blossoming of Surya is due most of all to the fact that she has rediscovered the joy of skating".

The controversy was resolved when Suzanne Surya Bonaly paid Dubova $1,000.

Training with Carroll helped Surya Bonaly improve; she won the Nations Cup in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, the Lalique Trophy, the Grand Prix de St Gervais, and the NHK Trophy that season.

Surya Bonaly again won the French Nationals and, coming in as favorite to win the 1993 European Championships again, came in first place.

At the 1993 World Championships in Prague, Surya Bonaly took silver behind Oksana Baiul from Ukraine, who had higher presentation scores.

Surya Bonaly easily beat Nancy Kerrigan from the US, winning her qualifying group with six triple jumps "with grace" and with "surprising aesthetic appeal".

Surya Bonaly came in second place at the 1993 Skate America, behind Baiul, and in fourth place at the 1993 Piruetten.

In February 1994, Surya Bonaly competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

Surya Bonaly came in third place in the short program, fourth place in the free skate, and finished in fourth place overall, behind Baiul, Kerrigan, and Chen Lu from China.

Surya Bonaly touched her hand to the ice during her triple loop jump later in the program and underrotated her triple-triple combination jump.

Sato won the free skate, by a narrow margin, with scores ranging from 5.7 to 5.9; Surya Bonaly's scores ranged from 5.5 to 5.9.

Surya Bonaly touched her hand on the ice after a triple loop jump late in her program, which the AP said cost her the competition.

Duzyj stated that Surya Bonaly was "visibly distraught"; he said, "What she saw as unfair treatment from the judges had become routine".

At first, Surya Bonaly refused to join Sato and Szewczenko and take the podium during the awards ceremony and then pulled off her medal "in disgust" and as a protest against the judges' decision; she was booed by the crowd.

Surya Bonaly choose to not attend the news conference held for the three top finishers afterwards.

Surya Bonaly later told Du that she felt that no matter how well she skated, the judges would not recognize her skills.

Surya Bonaly told Harvey that she received mixed messages from her federation and judges; when she tried to be more successful using skating technique, she was told that she was not artistic enough, but when she chose to "change to just normal skating, that's not good, too".

Surya Bonaly came in first place at the 1994 Skate America.

Surya Bonaly was in third place after the short program, but was able capitalize on the mistakes made by Michelle Kwan and Irina Slutskaya during the free skate; according to the Greensboro News and Record, Bonaly's "oft-troublesome assortment of soaring triple jumps and gymnast-like leaps boosted her past" Slutskaya, who was in first place after the short program and came in third place overall, and Kwan, who came in second place overall.

Surya Bonaly won the 1994 Trophee de France and came in second place at the 1994 NHK Trophy.

Surya Bonaly won the 1994 Goodwill Games in St Petersburg, Russia, which had to change venues due to a lack of ice at the original rink.

At the Thrifty Car Rental Challenge, Surya Bonaly was favored to win.

Surya Bonaly came in second place in the short program, behind Olga Markova from Russia, but was able to "edge out" Markova in the free skate.

Surya Bonaly later told reporters that "I can't say it was 100 percent excellence, but I did my job out there".

Surya Bonaly came in second place at the 1995 Hersey's Kisses Great American Figure Skating Challenge, competing for Team World.

Surya Bonaly won the gold medal at the French Nationals again.

Surya Bonaly won the 1995 European Championships for the fifth time, despite nursing a broken right toe.

At the 1995 World Championships, Surya Bonaly came in fourth place during her "flawed" short program, behind Chen Lu of China.

Surya Bonaly touched the ice during a combination jump, struggled with a few of her spins, and did "a good deal more churning than gliding".

Surya Bonaly skated better in her free skating program, successfully completing six clean triple jumps, but came in second place overall for the third year in a row.

Surya Bonaly came in fourth place at the 1995 NHK Trophy, third place at the 1995 Trophee de France, and fourth place at the 1996 Centennial on Ice.

Surya Bonaly earned 12 points, so she did not qualify for the finals for the Champions Series, the series of international competitions conducted by the ISU beginning in 1995.

Surya Bonaly had tied for the last spot in the finals, but her fifth-place finish in the free skate at the NHK Trophy was the deciding factor that took her out of the competition.

Surya Bonaly again won the gold medal at the French Nationals.

Surya Bonaly came in second place at the 1996 European Championships, failing to tie the record for six wins at Europeans, behind Irina Slutskaya, the first Russian woman to win the title.

Surya Bonaly told reporters that she did not skate her best.

Surya Bonaly came in fifth place at the 1996 World Figure Skating Championships.

In May 1996, Surya Bonaly ruptured her Achilles tendon, which almost ended her figure skating career and caused her to miss much of the following season.

Susan Du reported the injury occurred while Surya Bonaly was practicing her backflip, although there were other reports that the injury occurred during an exhibition performance.

Surya Bonaly won her final and ninth consecutive French National title, which qualified her for the 1998 Olympics.

Surya Bonaly struggled to qualify, coming in sixth place in the second group of qualifiers, completing only two triple toe loop jumps and one triple Salchow jump.

Surya Bonaly later told reporters that she was nervous, despite it being the competition's qualifying event.

In February 1998, Surya Bonaly participated in the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

Surya Bonaly called them "special" because it was her final Olympics and because they were "pretty much my last competition ever".

Surya Bonaly was given only one technical merit mark above a 5.3 and her presentation marks ranged from 4.9 to 5.7.

Penner reported that Keszler "couldn't believe the marks"; Surya Bonaly reacted by shrugging and stated, "After 10 years, I am used to it".

Surya Bonaly had pulled her groin muscle the day before the free skate; her injury was so severe, she was unable to walk, had to be carried up the stairs, and considered dropping out of the rest of the competition.

Susan Du reported that Surya Bonaly's injury liberated her because she knew that "she had nothing to lose" and that realistically, she would not be able to place in the top three.

Surya Bonaly fell on a triple jump, and as Du put it, "regained her composure, and backed into a spontaneous backflip"; at the time, she was only skater in the world capable of successfully accomplishing it.

Surya Bonaly was in so much pain, she felt that she was unable to successfully accomplish even crossovers and her triple jumps, so she decided, towards the end of her program, to "do something easier than a triple jump".

Surya Bonaly thought that the rule prevented her from landing on two feet, so she hoped that she would not be disqualified because she landed it on one foot.

Surya Bonaly later told reporters that she wanted to "show the judges, who don't appreciate what I do, just what I can do".

Surya Bonaly had two hip surgeries after completing her competitive career.

Surya Bonaly had suffered from chronic pain since she was a gymnast, accepting it as part of elite skating and avoiding treatment for many years.

Surya Bonaly performed in many ice shows all over the world and competed and won many professional competitions.

Surya Bonaly toured with Champions on Ice between 1993 and 2007.

Surya Bonaly performed her backflip during these shows, probably about 500 times, as well as triple and quadruple jumps.

Surya Bonaly performed for audiences of 15,000 people in major cities in Europe and the US Surya Bonaly later said that the audiences at the ice shows she performed in demanded that she perform her backflip.

Surya Bonaly told The Root in 2014 that she never had quit skating, that she was planning to tour with Holiday on Ice in Europe for three months, and that had she performed in ice shows with Russian skater Evgeni Pleshenko for years.

Surya Bonaly underwent an operation in 2015 for large non-cancerous cysts along her spinal cord.

Surya Bonaly's surgeon warned her against performing any more backflips; she retired from skating and became a coach full-time.

Surya Bonaly was the second black female skater, after American skater Debi Thomas, "to reach the international elite".

Keli Goff of The Rootl stated that Surya Bonaly "wowed audiences with routines that combined the artistry of figure skating with the athleticism of a gymnast".

Surya Bonaly spent much of her career working on successfully executing the quadruple jump, which she thought was more difficult than the backflip.

Surya Bonaly began working on the quad in 1989, after winning her first of nine French Nationals titles.

Surya Bonaly told Nick Zaccardi of NBC Sports in 2022 that she was able to land triples "with my eyes closed", adding that "Hey, with extra speed, with extra height, I could do a quadruple if I work on it".

Surya Bonaly later said that she felt that her work on the quad was not appreciated because she was unable to land it during competition.

Surya Bonaly later said that she regretted not being able to successfully execute a quad jump in competition because, as she put it, "Yeah, that was my thing".

Surya Bonaly did the backflip at the 1998 Olympics because she was, up to that point, known for performing the move at exhibitions but not at competitions, and because she "wanted to leave a trademark" at the Olympics.

Surya Bonaly performed her last backflip in 2014, but stopped doing them due to chronic pain.

In 2014, Surya Bonaly spoke with The Root about the lack of diversity in winter sports and about racism in France and the US, although she said that things had improved by 2014, when more black people in France and the US were skating.

Surya Bonaly said "I think that some were afraid and just thought skating [and other winter sports] are just for whites" and that she hoped that she inspired a new generation of diverse skaters, as black skaters like Debi Thomas had done for her.

Du stated that one of Surya Bonaly's strengths as a coach later in her career was her ability to remain happy and confident, which Du said was a skill Surya Bonaly "developed over a lifetime of grappling with a world that seemed hell-bent on keeping her out".

Du stated that Surya Bonaly loved performing and "loved making art that others could watch", adding that Surya Bonaly "craved the crowd, the applause, the couture, and the drama of the world stage".

Du reported that as Surya Bonaly prepared for her final Olympics in 1998, "bad press followed her".

The podcast stated that Surya Bonaly broke the stereotype of the "white ice princess", so she was not well received, no matter how hard she trained or how she tried to please the audience and judges.

Lawson stated that Surya Bonaly "did not fit the contours and fragility of the ice princess," that she was ridiculed for her physicality, and that she was "pegged as a rebel".

Surya Bonaly had a short, muscular stature with thick thighs and legs.

In 1990, the Chicago Tribune reported that Surya Bonaly ate a macrobiotic diet with no fish or meat.

Surya Bonaly resided in the US since 1997, first in Boston and then starting in 1999, in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she trained while not touring.

Surya Bonaly became an American citizen in January 2004, when she was living in Las Vegas.

Surya Bonaly skated for the first time as an American citizen in April 2004, at a Champions on Ice performance in Boston.

In 2010, Surya Bonaly served as the cultural attache for the Monaco consulate in Las Vegas.

In 2007, Surya Bonaly appeared in a poster made by PETA protesting Canada's seal hunt and the fur trade.

Surya Bonaly was part of a delegation, which included other international celebrities, from the Society for the Protection of Animals, who met with the president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, to address the abolition of bullfighting and to prohibit attendance at bullfighting events by children under the age of 16.

In 2010, Surya Bonaly met with Princess Caroline of Monaco, who recognized her for her "successful fundraising" for the World Association of Children's Friends, a children's charity organization founded by Princess Grace of Monaco.

Surya Bonaly was a member of the federal council of the French Federation of Ice Sports from 2010 to 2014 and was the ambassador of "France of Talents and Colors", an association that fought against racism, violence, and discrimination in sport.

In 2019, Surya Bonaly was featured in the Netflix documentary series Losers, which explores the lives of individuals who bounced back from loss or perceived failure.