Tonight at the Villa Masséna, Christian Estrosi, Mayor of Nice, will present the Insignia of Knight in the Order of the Legion of Honor to Surya Bonaly, World Runner-up in Figure Skating, World Junior Champion, European Champion, and French Champion.
In the presence of Didier Gailhaguet, President of the French Ice Sports Federation; Pierre-François Martin Lavalle, Film Producer; Robert Gineste, Director of the Isola 2000 Slopes; Jean-François Ropart, President of Nice Hockey Elite; Jannick Stute, President of the Nice Baie des Anges Association, member of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur ice sports league; Joël Bouzou, World Champion in 1987 in modern pentathlon.
Born in 1973 in Nice, where she lived until the age of 12, Surya Bonaly boasts one of the most impressive records in French figure skating with 9 French solo championship titles (from 1989 to 1997), a French championship title in pairs in 1989 with Benoît Vandenberghe, 16 Grand Prix medals (including ten gold medals), 5 European championship titles (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995), 3 medals at the World Junior Championships (3rd in 1989, 2nd in 1990, 1st in 1991), and 3 silver medals at the Senior World Championships (1993, 1994, 1995). She participated in the Olympic Games three times, achieving her best result in 1994 with a 4th place finish.
