Sandra Bezic: If you watch her jumps, they were on straight lines, and if a jump is on a straight line, then it can't land with flow because the idea is to land your jump with as much speed and flow as you had going into it. I don't know if there was racism. And even if you spill, if you fail at those moves, you still get points. And this is where things kind of get confusing. Tracie Hunte: Or, is this just a way of saying that she's black? TV Announcers: And here's the tiny 15 year old French girl who's captured everyone's imagination here. And Surya was sort of the epitome of almost the endpoint. It was just one of the best skates of her life. Tracie Hunte: And eventually, what she says is-. 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. They didn't know what to do with me. Surya (Bonali NDLR.) Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. Marie-Renie Le: No. "Illegal but . In the age of "ice princesses", Surya was an anomaly, and the figure skating world feared the kind of future she represented. So, even though, you know, I was small, tiny, tiny, she just put me on the ice and say, "Hey, just hang around and chill on the ice." Tracie Hunte: You get points for trying. Surya Bonaly was born December 15, 1973 in Nice, France. TV Announcers: When you can see disparity from the judges, a 5.7-. He says something, but you can't hear what it is. Robert Krulwich: Don't you think that that's a little unsportsmanlike? Didier Gailhagu: Because female skating at that moment were nice cute girls. EDINA, Minn. When Surya Bonaly started figure skating as a little girl, it was casual. Tracie Hunte: Those go to Yuka Sato. TV Announcers: The judges don't. I'm the only one who did it. The claim that Surya Bonaly, a French figure skater who rose to prominence in the early-mid 90s, was the reason the backflip was banned from figure skating is false. A friend of mine told me once that racism can make black people crazy, which is a very broad way of looking at it, in the sense that you almost never know why people are reacting to you the way that they do. I'm still performing all over the world," she told The Root in 2014. Lost in the Desert 34m And on Surya's artistic marks, she would get scores like-. Tracie Hunte: Is that there's this fundamental tension in the sport of figure skating between artistry on one side and athleticism on the other. Latif Nasser: The thing that becomes really apparent is that she is different! Shows like Radiolab. Matt Kielty: But she never wins? Tracie Hunte: Were they saying out loud? The backflip, which has. TV Announcers: For France, here is Surya Bonaly. She lives in Minnesota and she's coaching young skaters. And I think there were a lot of people in skating that didn't want it. Tracie Hunte: Well, she retired from figure skating after the 98 Olympics. And that she was defiant. de patineurs. Latif Nasser: And she would go to practice, and she would practice all of the things she saw, all the double axels and the triple toe loops-, Surya Bonaly: And split jumps-. There are different sounds. Surya Bonaly: Sonja Henie. Tracie Hunte: That's Johnette Howard-. It's a skater who usually finishes below Surya in competitions. Latif Nasser: I think she did. [ 1] Tracie Hunte: She's on pain killers. Latif Nasser: So after the medal ceremony's over, she just gets mobbed by reporters. Olympian Surya Bonaly may be best remembered for rattling the judges during her 1998 Nagano Olympics free program when shegasp!performed a backflip. TV Announcers: Notice her hair-. Robert Krulwich: So, she doesn't get high scores? And she's trying to be more graceful, more beautiful, more elegant. Cest chiant. Latif Nasser: And so by the age of ten, she decides she wants to spend her life figure skating. Latif Nasser: She said she just wanted something that was hers. Surya Bonaly: I think it was more like a point of saying this is it. This article is more than 3 years old. Surya Bonaly: Oh, the World Championships? Latif Nasser: She just stopped before getting on the podium. She grew up in Nice. Figure Skating. Sandra Bezic: And on behalf of everyone at Radiolab-. Wait. TV Announcers: Boy, this is going to be close. Surya Bonaly: Pretty good, thanks. ", 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. 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-. I was known for the backflip in exhibitions, not in competition, but I wanted to leave a trademark. Mais ce nest pas fait, et je nentrerai pas dans les codes. We didn't have the same one. TV Announcers: Flowers for Katarina! So WNYC studios, which is our home, wants to get a clear sense of how you listen, how you engage the shows that we make here. Melissa O'donnell, Kelsey Padgett, Sandra Bezic: Arianne Wack, and Molly Webster, with help from Alexandra Lee Young, Tonya Harding: Tracie Hunt, Stephanie Tam, and Micah Loewinger. Tonya Harding: I was like, "How did you do that?". TV Announcers: And the crowd here appreciate it. They were totally like woman, you know, pretty, graceful, who make those men crazy when they were watching it, you know. Surya Bonaly broke many of figure skating's racial barriers, and a new documentary honors her legacy. I have to keep going. How will I say? A lot. TV Announcers: That's very incredible. Matt Kielty: After the ceremony? And-. TV Announcers: Oh, what's going on inside that young woman? Read on to find out about her life today. She actually travels to California and worked with Frank Carroll, who's this legendary American coach. Tracie Hunte: More circly, yeah. Surya Bonaly: I had a special thing in my backpack and said, "Hey, I can do it. Latif Nasser: When she gets her marks, she jumps into first place, and there's only one skater left. She was athletic. Jaurais aim moccuper de la relve. But then there's also the gentle, almost soundless quality of, say a Yuka Sato or a Katia Gordeeva, where they're like a whisper across the ice, and yet they're flipping from one edge to another edge and forward to backward, and it's just this glide. Surya Bonaly: Well, you know. Loads and loads of technical difficulty. Hailing from Nice, France, her adoptive parents named her after the Sankrit word for "the sun." Shining athletically from an early age, she burst onto . So, how did you first get into skating? And you're always second guessing. Surya Bonaly: No. Surya Bonaly: Yeah. We adhere to structured guidelines for sourcing information and linking to other resources, including if( 'moc.enilnoefiltseb' !== location.hostname.split('').reverse().join('') ) { TV Announcers: A late arrival, and here she comes. Louis Aragon, pote et crivain, a vcu Nice de 1941 1942 avec sa femme Elsa Triolet. Are there back flips everywhere? 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-. Latif Nasser: No, no back flips, sadly. Robert Krulwich: Wait a minute. Surya Bonaly: A figure skating pioneer Bonaly landed a backflip on one blade during her free skate. This is probably her last go in front of the world. Surya Bonaly was not your typical figure skater. Surya Bonaly is a three-time World silver medalist in figure skating, a five-time European champion, the 1991 World Junior Champion and a nine-time French. 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. She's French, 24 years old, she's black. Tracie Hunte: She could barely speak English, she was barely 16. I haven't got a good word for it. Marie-Renie Le: It was my season. Opening up with her triple lutz. Tracie Hunte: What happens next is one of these moments that really defines Surya's story for a lot of people. It's mine. TV Announcers: Absolutely. Reported by Latif Nasser and Tracie Hunte, Special thanks to the Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers, the Schwan Super Rink, Richmond Training Center, Simon Bowers of Bowers Audio Service, Vanessa Gusmeroli, Phil Hersh, Allison Manley, Randy Harvey, Rob Bailey and Lynn Plage, Michael Rosenberg, and Linda Lewis, If you heard "On the Edge" and you're looking to fall in love with figure skating all over again, start here:http://www.radiolab.org/story/here-are-skating-routines-we-cant-stop-watching/. The installment covered Bonaly facing racism in a primarily white sport and her decision to do a backflip at the Olympics, even though it was not allowed. And, at her final Olympic performance, she attempted one jump that flew in the face of the establishment, and marked her for life as a rebel. Latif Nasser: Yeah, she was doing a lot. Tracie Hunte: Yeah, she was just absolutely fearless. European champion and vice-world champion, the sportswoman chained the trophies as fast as her acrobatics.However, these prestigious titles did not necessarily bring him gold.Throughout his career, the athlete has been regarded as "The black" in this very codified discipline. Sa tentative a chou, mais elle a ressay aux Jeux olympiques dhiver de 1996 et a failli devenir la premire femme russir un quadruple saut lors dune comptition internationale. Sandra Bezic: It's a beautiful sound. So now, you get points for doing the kinds of power moves that she was doing way back when. You're like recalculating. Surya Bonaly: I don't know, I'm just not lucky. Tracie Hunte: Outside of competition she would do these ice shows and exhibitions, and that's when you would see what she can really do. This week, we lace up our skates and tell a story about loving a sport that doesnt love you back, and being judged in front of the world according to rules you dont understand. Jad Abumrad: Producers Latin Nasser and Tracie Hunt. Studying at the Universit Polytechnique Hauts-de-France. Elvis Stojko: Like say a Tonya Harding-style skating. TV Interviewers: Very disappointed? So we all had to like, pay attention. En 2015, elle accorde sa confiance nos confrres : Comme le montre le fait que jaurais prfr passer mon aprs-carrire en France, qui est mon pays dorigine ! So as far as sports go, it's kind of in its own category. Surya Bonaly was not your typical figure skater. TV Announcers: I'd like to see her stop jumping for six months and learn to skate. Showing Editorial results for surya bonaly. It doesn't matter that it's figure skating. We're at the Olympics in Nagano. It must be a very confusing situation to be in. Oh, and she takes off the medal. Jad Abumrad: This is Radiolab. Her performances - punctuated by triple-triple jumps and other power moves - thrilled audiences around the world. She wins 8 out of 9 technical merits. If you're talking about Serena Williams, whose facing a lot of these same kinds of criticisms, it doesn't matter. Is that what you're saying? And one day I find out that I had, you know, some skating boots who fit me and-. V roce 1998 na zimnch olympijskch hrch v Naganu pedvedla jako jedin olympionika v historii salto vzad na jedn noze. I was just trying to be happy. A Natural in the Gym and on the Ice. 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. Black?". Latif Nasser: And then what comes to her is that there is this move that she has in her repertoire that she can do, but it's illegal. It was not perfect because nobody is perfect, but pretty good competition overall. Absolutely. Jad Abumrad: I'm Jab Abu mrad. TV Announcers: It's just the opposite from the technical marks, 8 of the 9 judges, all but the French judge, giving her higher marks. Elvis Stojko: With powerful spin. she told the Olympic Channel podcast in 2020. Tracie Hunte: I think the rep that she got after this was that she was a sore loser. RELATED: To see more famous athletes of the past now, sign up for our daily newsletter. Latif Nasser: And that she had, that she, what was it? Tracie Hunte: He puts the medal around Surya's neck, shakes her hand, and then he holds onto her hand, and just kind of pulls her onto the podium. Sandra Bezic: And the other thing about skating that you don't necessarily get on camera is the sound of the edge. Surya Bonaly: I know I did my best, I did everything. Bonaly's outspoken style sets her apart among mild-mannered Minnesotans, Biver noted. Surya Bonaly: Yeah, totally. She was black. When the French international figure skater stepped onto the ice in the 1990s, the skating field was overwhelmingly white. Latif Nasser: Afterwards, a lot of people interpreted that back flip as a big fat middle finger up to the entire skating world. Devenue la premire femme russir un quadruple saut aux Jeux olympiques, qui ont eu lieu pendant la comptition par quipe. Surya Bonaly: Those famous skater, like Katarina Witt-, TV Announcers: The ravishing Katarina Witt-. Selon lUnion internationale de patinage, les backflips taient et continuent dtre interdits en patinage de comptition (ISU). You're listen-, Introduction: You're listen-, Jad Abumrad: Okay, so then if What? Latif Nasser: So it goes to being a tiebreaker. Latif Nasser: Making his return, Elvis Stojko. 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. It's a sound that we all love. Unlike her competitors ice princesses who hid behind demure smilesSurya made her feelings known. I couldn't do anything. Latif Nasser: She takes the medal off of her head-. She was going to take it. Now it's down to the judges as to whether the gold medal belongs to Sato of Japan or Bonaly of France. She is probably going to win. Tracie Hunte: Elvis was actually in the crowd watching. I skate good, but somehow, it's not for me. Latif Nasser: She would do all kinds of other jumps that weren't even allowed in competition. Latif Nasser: No, she keeps going. It'd really help us out if you answered a couple questions. Marie-Renie Le: Oh, yes. Jad Abumrad: But I don't necessarily hear whatever it is that she is hearing and think, "Yes!". Tracie Hunte: So Yuka gets off the ice, she goes to wait for her marks. Tracie Hunte: And speaking of difference, you know, if we fast forward a little bit TV Announcers: And here she is on the world stage, Surya Bonaly. Tracie Hunte: In 1989 when she appears at the World Championships-. She was athletic. 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