Tracie Hunte: And then she got to this point where she just knew she couldn't do it. TV Announcers: Off to the dressing room for the new champion. And that is our sport, which leads to Surya. There are rules, whereas there aren't these rules when it comes to beauty. Jad Abumrad: The piece was produced by Matt Kielty. Johnette Howard: Yeah, I think there's several things. Team France. sound information and advice to make the smartest, healthiest choices. Sandra Bezic: No, no, no, no. Between my legs and my achilles, I was a disaster. Latif Nasser: Well I asked her. Latif Nasser: She started skating. Surya Bonaly: Unfortunately, they chose her. But, I can kind of see where he was going because what he was trying to do, was that he was trying to present her to the world as this radically new kind of skater. Surya Bonaly: Yeah, oh yeah, totally. Surya Bonaly: From the local ring, I guess a coach kind of call and have a meeting with your parents, say "Hey, you know, it will be nice if you could come like two times a week. Tonya Harding: I went through it, I know all about it. Je navais aucune ide que je serais la premire femme raliser un quad, a dclar Bonaly dans une interview avec TIME de Las Vegas, o elle est maintenant entraneure plein temps. And then there were these fanciful stories that sprung up about where she came from-, TV Announcers: We are now taking you about as far away from the skating world as possible-. Bonaly participated in three Winter Olympics, and though she never medalled at the Games, she is still considered one of the greats from the sport, as the five-time European champion and winner of . Bonaly, a French figure skater, had been doing backflips since the 1980s out of competition. ", Bonaly has also opened up about being one of few Black skaters, and how she doesn't know how much racism may have affected her career. And one day I find out that I had, you know, some skating boots who fit me and-. "I can see now people recognize and appreciate more than when I was. Surya Bonaly broke many of figure skating's racial barriers, and a new documentary honors her legacy. Surya Bonaly: Yeah, because I was black, so I was like, people was like, "What? TV Interviewers: Very disappointed? But Surya Bonaly was not the skating talent they'd expected: eccentric, defiant, athletic - and black. That's wnyc.org/participate, and that link is also in the show notes for this episode. It was just one of the best skates of her life. Tracie Hunte: After that, it's just triple, triple, triple, triple, triple. TV Announcers: Boy, this is going to be close. Really I was so messed up. So three years in a row. Tracie Hunte: For various reasons. Bonaly, 48, is touched that people remember her skating and amused that new fans enjoy videos of her competing and performing. She was athletic. What is that about? ', raconte lathlte. She won a 1986 World Trampoline Championships silver medal for France in team tumbling at age 12. Every day, I tried to do the best that I could do. See Him at 63. Surya Bonaly was not your typical figure skater. Robert Krulwich: So I'm just curious. Elvis Stojko: And Yuka had this very-. Latif Nasser: Okay, okay. What happened? Elvis Stojko: With powerful spin. Surya Bonaly: It happened all the time. TV Announcers: When you can see disparity from the judges, a 5.7-. "I wish there was somebody back in my day who was able to do that for me," the 48-year-old retired Black athlete told TODAY. In the 1980s and '90s, competitive figure skating enthralled me. They sound different, but not even that different really? She's not elegant. Radiolab is supported in part by the Alfred P. Sloane Foundation, enhancing public understanding of science and technology in the modern world. Louis Aragon, pote et crivain, a vcu Nice de 1941 1942 avec sa femme Elsa Triolet. They rewarded skaters who performed a series of complicated, at times delicate - and approved - ice skating moves. Elle est une partisane trs active de la PETA, et elle a galement organis un petit groupe de patineurs professionnels, avec qui elle collabore sur des projets spciaux. This is probably her last go in front of the world. Surya Bonaly: I thought, it's still sport, sports mean challenge. I still follow my passion!". [crosstalk 00:08:04] I'm just saying that we making up stories because you want to hear them. Tracie Hunte: She would see all these famous skaters. Surya Bonaly: I don't know, I'm just not lucky. Elvis Stojko: She wouldn't stand on it. She's the kind of skater that puts a smile on your face. Surya Bonaly: Well, you know. Thanks. La mre envahissante de Surya Bonaly La mre envahissante de Surya Bonaly Quand les proches des sportifs sment la zizanie Suzanne, la mre adoptive de Surya Bonaly, tait rpute trs. Latif Nasser: Elvis Stojko, too. [ 1] En prsence de son fianc, Pete Biver, lancienne patineuse sest vu remettre son prix dans sa ville natale de Chicago. RELATED:See Figure Skater Nancy Kerrigan Now, 28 Years After Her Last Olympics. Everything is about edges and leaning into those edges and leaning into the turns, and carving massive circles on the ice. Stories, right? Latif Nasser: Things take a really strange turn. Dans cette vido on vous parle de l'histoire de Surya Bonaly , l'une des plus grandes championne franaise du patinage artistique.Championne avant gardiste d. Rerouting, okay we have to go right now! Tracie Hunte: She'd strike a pose, and then just take off. Surya Bonaly: Especially for ladies, they like to keep the girls pretty. TV Announcers: And here's the tiny 15 year old French girl who's captured everyone's imagination here. She had it all. Robert Krulwich: I'm Robert Krulwich. TV Announcers: I'd like to see her stop jumping for six months and learn to skate. Tracie Hunte: And when we asked her why, this is what she said. Latif Nasser: She pulled a muscle. Surya Bonaly: I know I did my best, I did everything. Ever. Surya Bonaly remained involved in skating. Read on to find out about her life today. Tracie Hunte: It actually ends up being a tie. Latif Nasser: She's never medalled at the Olympics before. Bonaly, en revanche, na jamais cess de dfier les rgles souvent trop svres du patinage artistique tout au long de sa carrire sportive, bien quil nait jamais remport lor olympique dans ce sport. And say, "I'm not dumb, and I'm getting sick now, I'm sick of it. Surya BONALY. Latif Nasser: Okay, so to really understand just the context of all this, and the stakes of that moment, we gotta go all the way back. Surya Bonaly: Well, never mind. Latif Nasser: Powerfulness versus prettiness. Latif Nasser: Did you feel like any of it was about race? And Surya was sort of the epitome of almost the endpoint. var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest(); TV Interviewers: Do you feel you were robbed tonight? Artistic impression. The French figure skater was able to perform backflips on ice, and in 1998, she became the only person to land a backflip on one blade during the Olympicsdespite it being against the rules and even though she was injured. "I don't know if race made it more difficult, but it. Latif Nasser: She's in this gold and blue sequin outfit, and she starts her routine. Whipping around, Bonaly landed on one blade an Olympic first that no one has dared to match. The French figure skater was able to perform backflips on ice, and in 1998, she became the only person to land a backflip on one blade during the Olympicsdespite it being against the rules and even though she was injured. Matt Kielty: After the ceremony? It is available for viewing on YouTube as "Backflips on the Ice" and includes Olympic champions Robin Cousins, Brian Orser, Scott Hamilton, Surya Bonaly, and more. So she was just this sort of blip on the skating scene, where no one was like her before, and there hasn't really been anyone like her since. Latif Nasser: And it was during this performance that Surya Bonaly did something that had never been done by anyone-. Games Participations 3. Depending upon the beholder, Surya Bonaly is the most gifted and athletic figure skater in the world today, or she is a unique but squandered talent whose career seems destined to stall at. Surya Bonaly: It was so much pain. Latif Nasser: Yeah, you can watch the YouTube videos from that period, and it's like she's a different skater. Bost aldiz izan zen Europako txapelduna , eta hiru aldiz irabazi zuen zilarrezko domina Munduko txapelketan . Tracie Hunte: Yes! Sandra Bezic: This gentle, almost soundless quality, like a whisper across the ice. Latif Nasser: Now, Tonya Harding, she said that she had this issue. Didier Gailhagu: We used the press very well. This is Sandra Bezic. Latif Nasser: She said that she backed Surya. Tonya Harding: She had the stepping, the gliding, the running. TV Announcers: Absolutely. Bonaly participated in three Winter Olympics, and though she never medalled at the Games, she is still considered one of the greats from the sport, as the five-time European champion and winner of three silver medals in the World Figure Skating Championships. Tracie Hunte: More circly, yeah. Surya Bonaly tait ravie de retourner Nice pour son anniversaire (elle a eu 46 ans le 15 dcembre 2019). Tracie Hunte: Well, after a couple years of getting these kinds of marks, she does some soul searching. So if you have a second, there is a survey at wnyc.org/participate. She won a 1986 World Trampoline Championships silver medal for France in team tumbling at age 12. Latif Nasser: Just to set this up, the World Championships are the second most important event in figure skating after the Olympics. navigator.sendBeacon('https://www.google-analytics.com/collect', payload); Now I'm preparing to go on a big tour in Europe for Holiday on Ice. Tracie Hunte: Pretty soon she had a coach. Tracie Hunte: Johnette Howard, that ESPN writer-, Tracie Hunte: She says that the first thing you've got to know, and this will take a quick little dive into the weirdo world of figure skating-. Jad Abumrad: Okay, I'm Jad Abumrad. Elle a atteint le sol, mais elle est tombe environ un quart de tour avant de terminer quatre rotations dans les airs; les juges ont jug que son effort tait sous-tourn et ne comptait donc pas comme un quadruple saut. Surya Bonaly: Just that I'd over and over it so many times, that every time, it's never me because whatever I can do, how many triples, I can be pretty, I can have the best choreographer, so everything was made to be on the top. Surya knew she belonged on the ice. TV Announcers: Oh my goodness! Tracie Hunte: Immediately starts with this double axel. Tracie Hunte: And when she gets to the podium, she congratulates Yuka Sato, but then-. Latif Nasser: So it goes to being a tiebreaker. Tracie Hunte: And eventually, what she says is-. Tracie Hunte: The whole crowd is booing. It's okay. Surya Bonaly: No, not the Olympics. Some good ones, do you know what I mean? Surya Bonaly: No. Surya Bonaly was born December 15, 1973 in Nice, France. Closing Credits: End of message. Latif Nasser: There's just a lot of raw talent, but it's not fully - hasn't been refined. au 42 balais lorsquelle tait interviewe par le magazine. We adhere to structured guidelines for sourcing information and linking to other resources, including And that she was defiant. Sandra Bezic: No. Sandra Bezic: Thank you for listening. Latif Nasser: Yeah, you get your low fives, which sounds like it's a good mark, but that's not a good mark. Tracie Hunte: Elvis was actually in the crowd watching. Tonya Harding: Dylan Keefe is our Director of Sound Design. Find your friends on Facebook. And I was like "Surya, just get on the podium, take the medal". And look, I've never been a huge fan of figure skating, but this story, I think, asks a really interesting question. Surya Bonaly: Pretty good, thanks. Backflips were, and still are, illegal in. And the crowd loved it. Latif Nasser: Had anyone ever done this back flip onto one blade before? TV Announcers: She really is amazing. TV Announcers: Raw talent there. She was going to take it. Jacques Barbri, crivain franais de science-fiction, n le 14 juillet 1954 Nice. Latif Nasser: So in her rerouting, she turns around from skating forwards to skating backwards, picks up speed, just like she's about to do a triple, but instead-. She takes the ice-. Tracie Hunte: And then she lands on one foot. Tracie Hunte: She skates out onto the ice, she waves, but her face isn't smiling. Did you feel that any of the difficulty was because you're black? Tracie Hunte: Oksana Bayul got gold-, TV Announcers: Nancy Kerrigan is physically-, Tracie Hunte: Nancy Kerrigan got silver, Chen Lu got the bronze, and fourth place was Surya. She would be scratchy. There, she coaches skating at the Las Vegas Ice Center. Produced by Matt Kielty with help from Tracie Hunte. She took birth at her parents' home in Nice, France. She began working on a quad in practice in 1989 after winning the first of her nine consecutive national figure skating titles. xhr.send(payload); Robert Krulwich: What do you do? Just hold, hold, at this point, just hold. Lia Beck is a writer living in Richmond, Virginia. The French figure skater was able to perform backflips on ice, and in 1998, she became the only person to land a. Tracie Hunte: Not immediately. Latif Nasser: But then moments later she said-. Elvis Stojko told us that one time he tried it and it did not go well. I can't imagine what it must be like, well I can imagine what it must be like. Marie-Renie Le: And we had to choose only two girls. Sandra Bezic: And the other thing about skating that you don't necessarily get on camera is the sound of the edge. Latif Nasser: The margin was so close. Tracie Hunte: They would just be flying through the air. TV Interviewers: Why did you not accept the medal? Tracie Hunte: I think the rep that she got after this was that she was a sore loser. scientific studies and medical journals. Que faire quand tout le monde sait de quoi vous parlez ? Latif Nasser: The thing that becomes really apparent is that she is different! Respect Sorya, je vous ai toujours admir, quelle carrire, et le salto arrire restera longtemps grav dans notre ma mmoire ! Surya Bonaly: Yeah. Robert Krulwich: I mean all these other girls have worked just as hard as she has, one presumes. Jad Abumrad: So why was she getting bad marks to begin with? I love those show time and just, you know, those fantastic costumes. Yet, commentators claimed she couldnt skate, and judges never gave her the high marks she felt she deserved. TV Announcers: There it is, she's got it! I was just trying to be happy. Latif Nasser: Sure, but picture yourself if you're in that position, and you find yourself getting second, second, you feel like you're not-. Olympian Surya Bonaly may be best remembered for rattling the judges during her 1998 Nagano Olympics free program when shegasp!performed a backflip. Sandra Bezic: Everything about skating is built on circles. The answer they giving to us was, "No, no she didn't.". It's super slushy. 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