Well so I was just there chilling, exploring a new
found interesting thing, podcast which my cousin introduced me to. And I came
across a name as “On the edge” and as I hit play it started some thing
irrelevant information at first. But then slowly as I was concentrating onto
it.
I came across a mind blowing story of a Gymnast+
figure skater + a Heroin which I can't explain how much I felt proud of her.
So here’s she.
A girl named Surya Balone, and here’s a short
introduction to her.
So Surya Bonaly (born December 15, 1973) is a French-American former figure skater who competed for France. She is a
three-time World silver medalist
(1993–1995), a five-time European champion (1991–1995), the 1991 World Junior Champion, and a nine-time French national champion (1989–1997).
Bonaly is the only figure skater to land a backflip on only one
blade; she performed it at the 1998
Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
Well first of all the thing you notice would be her
skin color right? As I have been a fan of figure skating and never ever lose any opportunity to watch
a figure skating competition if I see it on television, I was surprised as well
to see a black skater being a figure skater.
(Sorry, I cant help but its just a little unusual,
well not in these days perhaps but back in
80’s and 90’s it must have been a big surprise right?)
So the podcast was about Surya Bonaly and her
struggle through her skating career.
Bonaly was born in Nice, France on December 15, 1973. Initially named Claudine, she was
adopted at 18 months old by Suzanne and Georges Bonaly, who gave her the name
Surya. Suzanne worked as a physical education teacher and Georges as an
architect for the government. The couple initially told the media that their
daughter had been born on the island of Reunion,
because they thought this origin
sounded more "exotic".When Surya approached the age of 18 and began
researching her birth history, her parents admitted that Surya's biological
mother had been from the island but that Surya herself had not been born there.
(source Wikipedia)
So when she was a
kid, she took interest in gymnastic and then after she switched to the figure
skating. Being a black girl and her figure skating techniques being a little
bit less elegant, she was sort of ignored by the people for being the
competitor to win the first places. She kept her practice going on to improve
on her techniques but she just kind of had enough is enough time when she was
in the1990 worlds junior championship.
Bonaly was awarded the silver medal behind
Japan's Yuka Sato at the 1990 World Junior Championships in Colorado
Springs, Colorado. She finished fourth at the 1990 European Championships and ninth at the 1990
World Championships.
This incidence was
explicitly narrated in the podcast and I was sort of astonished by her behavior
at that time.
It stated that even
though Surya had given her best in that competition but being a kind of not so
accepted stereotypes the gold medal was given to the Yuka sato in that
competition.
Surya first didn’t
came out for the award ceremony for several minutes and then when she came she
was already crying. She went in the ice for her bow down and congratulated
Yuka, but she didn’t stand up on the podium. Although Yuka being the gold
medalist all eyes were on crying Surya.
The president did
awarded Yuka her gold medal( all the time while keeping an eye on Surya as if
she would then atleast stood up on podium but she didn’t)
He then went towards
her, almost pulled her on the podium, and then awarded her a silver medal. But
after a second or two Surya removed the medal, all the time while weeping.
I mean damn… She took
it off right in front of everybody.
When asked by
reporters about her behavior she stated that “maybe she isn’t lucky” enough to
get in the first place, after giving all that she can.
I was having vague
pictures of the scenario the whole time I was listening to this, so then after
I finished it, I started a little digging up and I found the very moment video
on the youtube and oh my god. I was literally speechless with the real moment of
it. She was seriously disappointed, and she looked so very sad for whatever had
happened with her.
There was one more
incidence in the podcast as Surya being a gymnast had learnt to do a backflip
in the skating while she was in the training. As Back flipping is dangerous to
do in skating, its officially illegal move in the figure skating.
So in her last year of her career , and she
just was going through a post surgery period but she wanted to participate in
the Olympics so even in the pain after taking all medical help she could get,
and she went on the Ice.
She fell after a
first few minutes but she did stood up, and then at a point when she thought
she can not do anything further, she
suddenly made up her mind and did a illegal move.
suddenly made up her mind and did a illegal move.
A backflip, in which
she landed on one foot, which was sort of a approved move.
And when I watched
what she did, I was stunned. Absolutely stunned.
I mean, oh my god.
After all that she had been through in her life. She just did it all while
going through immense pain, If you seen her doing that rebellious back flip you
need to remember that she was in such great pain all the whole time. And She
just did it.
When I was reading
“To kill a mocking bird” there was one sentence in it, and I had totally lost it on that sentence.
I couldn't help but cry at the line where Jem says to change the
law which makes black people guilty, and Atticus says
“You’d be surprised how hard that’d be. I won’t live to see the
law
changed, and if you live to see it you’ll be an old man."
Well this isn’t the same, but the same thing made me
cry when I saw Surya not standing on that podium. The same thing that reminded
me that how much does our stereotypes matters in society.
After that I saw a clip “Rebel on Ice” and when I
watched her doing the flips with such momentum, I thought as if she deserved to
be there rather than the elegant princesses out there. She isn’t a elegant and the persona fitting
into certain perspectives of a figure skaters, but what she is a speed of sound
and determination. She is the pain that breaks through and brings out the
courage. Perhaps she wasn’t fitting into all the criteria in all those
competitions according to the judges, maybe she lacked or maybe not.
But I sure did get inspired by a Rebel she started
on Ice. I loved the moment when she landed perfectly, as in the words used to
describe her by media as she gave a middle finger to all those who had moved
her aside and didn’t let her get what she deserved.
And yes. The record still stands with her name.
“Bonaly is the only
figure skater to land a backflip on only one blade, in an Olympic”
And its not just what
she did was impressive, it’s the reason why she did and all the things before
that.
As the podcast’s
description says,
A story about loving
a sport, which doesn’t love you back, and being judged in front of the world
according to rules you don’t understand.
To Suya Bonaly.
If you are interested, please follow links below to find out about this amazing figure skater who
would change your views about how you’d judge someone.
The podcast:http://www.radiolab.org/story/edge/
Her back flipping moment:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mVVy25e-vk
Surya Bonaly in ESPN “rebel on ice”:
No comments:
Post a Comment