LAST weekend I saw the Netflix documentary Losers, which featured and presented eight stories of professional athletes, narrations of failure and mediocrity, then resurrection amidst trial, tribulation and adversity.
Indeed these were stories of the indomitable human spirit therefore, I’ve decided to do a series on the eight professional athletes and a glimpse into what transpired in the misdirection of their fate and destiny.
This week, I look at French figure-skating legend Surya Bonaly who was born on December 15, 1973, and was adopted and raised by white parents.
According to one of the web sites I researched about her, Bonaly was “a three-time world silver medalist (1993-1995), a five-time European champion (1991-1995), 1991 World Junior Champion and nine-time French national champion (1989-1997).”
Decorated is an understatement for the 45-year-old living legend of competitive figure skating. An article on “The Undefeated” by Erin Mathewson dated February 22, 2018, says, “The last time we saw a black woman as a serious contender for an Olympic medal in figure skating was 1998. The same year that Monica Lewinsky scandal began to unfold in the White House and the Denver Broncos won Super Bowl XXXII, France’s Surya Bonaly went after an Olympic title for the third time.”
“The Undefeated” continues, “As an athlete, as a black woman who did not let disappointing finishes deter her making a career out of a sport she loved, I’d listen to whatever she has to say.”
Disappointing is unsuccessfully competing for the world championship thrice, but every time she fell, she got back up. Bonaly was a combination of speed, strength and athleticism. Enough athleticism to execute a backflip at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, which is and has been illegal since 1976.
She is the only woman in the history of competitive figure skating to execute the move. In my humble opinion, judges should allow more athleticism to be incorporated into the programs and routines of competitive figure-skating competitions.
These days, if Bonaly isn’t coaching in Minnesota, she’s on the road as a motivational speaker inspiring others, especially young figure skaters, to be fearless.
According to a Washington Post article by Tik Root dated February 22, 2018, “I don’t know if race made it more difficult, but it certainly made me stronger,” she told ESPN several years ago. “Maybe I won’t be accepted by a white person. But if I’m better, they have no choice.”
Bonaly goes on to say, “I wanted to do something to please the crowd, not the judges,” she said that night, according to the Miami Herald. “The judges are not pleased no matter what I do, and I knew I couldn’t go forward anyway, because everybody was skating so good.”
The 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics would be her last.