Photo courtesy of Ga�l Cotonnec and Masters Miko. � � � � � � � � � � �

� � � � Surya Bonaly has been a force in the figure skating world ever since she stormed onto the scene and snatched the World Junior Championship Title in Budapest in 1991.

� � � � Surya was born and raised on the French Riviera, in a city called Nice, France. She was adopted at an early age by Suzanne Bonaly, who continues to be a driving force in her life and career to this day. Suzanne encouraged Surya in her athletic endeavors and supported her through her trials and rise to stardom. Fearing Surya would go unnoticed and unappreciated by the highly political figure skating society, Suzanne Bonaly, along with the aid of several key members of the F�d�ration Fran�ais des Sports de Glace (FFSG), the French figure skating federation, formulated a wild story regarding Surya in the hopes it would attract attention to her great skating ability and get her into the favor of the ISU. In this ploy, Surya was said to have been born at Reunion Island, a French protectorate off the coast of Africa. They had hoped to create a mystique about Surya that would arouse media interest and the attention of ISU judges. This was an unnecessary attempt to bring Surya's skating to the forefront, for her spectacular jumps and innovative choreography would make a name for her, and lead her to win 5 European titles.

� � � � Although she began skating at the age of 18 months, it was not her sole focus. Surya made her athletic prowess be known in other areas as well. She excelled on the trampoline, and even became the World Champion on that apparatus. She was also a highly ranked competitive diver in Europe, as well as a tumbler for France. In 1986, Surya won the World Junior Tumbling Championships. She still uses the skills and abilities that she learned from these activities, and incorporates them into her skating routines. She is the only person, male or female, able to land a backflip on one foot. She is also the first and only person thus far to land a backflip on one foot at the Olympic Games. (illegally, one might add!)

� � � Surya is known for her technical ability and innovative choreography on the ice. She is the first woman to attempt a quadruple jump in competition. Twice she has attempted the quad, but neither has been recognized by the ISU as a completed element. The first attempt was at the 1992 Albertville Olympic Games. Surya attacked her free skate, but slightly underrotated her Quadruple Toeloop. Her next attempt came at the 1996 World Championships, where she would attempt a Quadruple Salchow, but fall on it. Other than the quads, Surya is also famous for her difficult Triple-Triple combinations. In her illustrious career, Surya has landed the following Triple combinations: Triple Lutz-Triple Toe, Triple Flip-Triple Toe, Triple Loop-Triple-Toe, Triple Salchow-Triple Toe, Triple Toe-Triple Toe, Triple Toe-Triple Loop, Triple Toe-half loop-Triple Salchow, Triple Toe-half loop-Triple Salchow-Double Toe. Surya is also known for her innovative choreography and combination spins. She even has a spin named after her! "The Bonaly" is where she gets into a half-sit position, curls into a ball, and brings her free leg behind her and up into a spiral position -- all while maintaining her spin!

� � � The most controversial point in Surya's career came in 1994, when she refused to stand on the podium during the awards ceremony of those World Championships, in protest of not winning the gold. Surya skated a technically superior free skate program filled with energy and flair, but was awarded the silver medal for the second year in a row. The ISU judges decided instead to give the World title to Yuka Sato, who was skating in front of her hometown audience in Chiba, Japan. Surya has never lived this down, and continues to receive discouraging marks on a consistent basis from the judges. Regardless, Surya continues to skate for herself and the crowd, and will surely one day win the World Professional title.

� � � Surya competed as an Olympic-eligible amateur skater from 1987-1998, which is a credit to her longevity. During this time span, she competed in 3 Olympic games, won the 1991 World Junior Championships, 5 European titles, 9 French National titles, 4 Trophee Lalique titles, and the 1994 Goodwill Games. Surya was 3 times the World Silver Medalist, and won the last Trophee de France ever held. After years of coming so close to a World Championship title, being in the midst of judging controversies, and suffering an Achilles injury so severe that her doctors said she would never skate competitively again, Surya turned professional following the 1998 Winter Olympic Games, in which she finished 10th. Not only did she come back to skate competitively, but she was right back where she left off, with the best in the world. She announced her intention of becoming pro not in a press conference, but rather during her long program at the Nagano Winter Olympics, where she performed her trademark 1-Footed Backflip, a move that was made explicitly illegal by the ISU, right in front of the judges. She would end that last program of her amateur career with her back to the judges, a symbol of her defiance of the ISU, after years of low marks and poor treatment by the ISU. As a professional, she has been very successful, recently winning her first title, which was the ESPN Professional Championships. She continues to skate strong, and has even regained the more technically demanding triple jumps, which most professionals do not even attempt, and has been re-incorporating them into her professional programs. Surya remains a force in the professional figure skating arena, and is competing in more events than any other professional female skater during the 1999-2000 season.

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