You may remember Surya Bonaly and Debi Thomas, who opened doors for blacks in singles skating at the Olympics. Now, we have Vanessa James and Yannick Bonheur of France, who on Monday became the first black couple to compete in Olympic pairs skating. Slowly … very slowly, but surely, the complexion of the winter event is changing.
The pair electrifyed the Olympic’s Pacific Coliseum crowd with an acrobatic free skate program (Surya was known for injecting stunning acrobatics into her program). They finished 14th, but with all their high-flying jumps and high-risk lifts and throws, they were a crowd favorite.
James, 22, and Bonheur, 27, connected through an Internet site for competitive pairs skaters looking for partners. Bonheur said he initially didn’t set out to find a black partner, but since the connection, the two have been skating together for three years.
“I didn’t search for a black girl in the first place, just a girl who wanted to try and work for it,” he told the media after the performance. “We hope that in the future we can win many medals and have a black coach and officials in pairs skating.”
James was born in Canada and had competed for Britain as a single, but to be closer to Bonheur, she was granted French citizenship last year.
She said their performance at the Winter Games showed the door had finally been opened for black pairs skaters.
“I hope we do see more black skaters and we see more couples,” James said. –gerald radford
