Bonny Warner

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Bonny Warner (now Bonny Simi, born April 7, 1962 in Mount Baldy, California[1]) is an American luger who competed from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. [2] She later competed in women's bobsleigh from 1999 to 2002.[2] Since 1990, she has been a pilot for United Airlines.[2]

Contents

[edit] Luge career

Warner's career in luge began when she was a torchbearer for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York while as a freshman from Stanford University.[2] While watching the luge competitions in Lake Placid, she became hooked on the event.[2] This would lead Warner to travel to West Germany and follow luge activities over there.[2] Warner would then learn to speak fluent German while over there.[2] While at Stanford, Warner switched her major from civil engineering to broadcast journalism after earning an athletic scholarship to play field hockey. Competing in three Winter Olympics, she earned her best finish of sixth in the women's singles event at Calgary in 1988.[3]

[edit] Broadcasting career

Following the 1992 Winter Olympics, Warner retired and served as a color commentator for CBS Sports during their coverage of the Winter Olympics in 1994 and 1998.[2] Prior to that, she had been a television sports reporter for the San Francisco area during the mid 1980s.[2]

[edit] Airline career

After the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Warner earned a 10,000 USD scholarship and earned her aviator's license.[2] Prior to joining United in November 1990, she worked as a flight instructor and a corporate pilot.[2] One of Warner's clients as a corporate pilot was the late promoter Bill Graham.[2]

[edit] Personal life

Warner married Tony Simi, a firefighter and paramedic who was in one of her classes in 1996.[2] A daughter, Katlin, was born in 1998.[2]

[edit] Bobsleigh career

After a 1999 vacation to Park City, Utah, Warner went over to bobsleigh and competed from 1999 to 2002.[2] While searching for a brakeman, she discovered Vonetta Flowers, who would go onto win the gold medal in the two-woman event at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.[2][4] Warner's best seasonal finish in the Bobsleigh World Cup was third overall in 2000-1.[5] During the 2001-2 Bobsleigh World Cup, Warner carried on her sled a memorial to the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington, DC.[2] She tried out for the 2002 US team, but did not qualify though Flowers did.[2] She also participated in simulation for bobsleigh starts prior to the 2002 games.[6] Because she did not qualify for the 2002 Winter Olympics, she worked for NBC Sports during their television coverage of the games.

[edit] Life since the Winter Olympics

Since her retirement from bobsleigh, Warner continues to fly for United and is also a motivational speaker out of New York.[7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Brainyhistory.com profile - accessed October 25, 2007
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Air Line Pilots Association profile on Warner's bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City - accessed October 25, 2007
  3. ^ 1984 luge women's singles results
  4. ^ May 18, 1999 issue of The Stanford Daily featuring Warner and her bobsleigh pursuits - Accessed October 25, 2007.
  5. ^ List of two-woman bobsleigh World Cup champions since 1995
  6. ^ American Society of Mechanical Engineers story on Warner's participation on a bobsleigh simulator prior to the 2002 Winter Olympics - accessed Ocober 25, 2007
  7. ^ Speakers Platform featuring Warner - access October 25, 2007.