Andrée Brunet

Andrée Brunet
Personal information
Full name Andrée Brunet
Alternative names Andrée Joly
Country represented  France
Born September 16, 1901(1901-09-16)
Paris
Died March 30, 1993(1993-03-30) (aged 91)
Boyne City, Michigan
Partner Pierre Brunet
Retired 1936
Olympic medal record
Figure skating
Competitor for  France
Gold 1928 St. Moritz Pairs
Gold 1932 Lake Placid Pairs
Bronze 1924 Chamonix Pairs

Andrée Brunet (also Andrée Joly, September 16, 1901 in Paris, France – March 30, 1993, Boyne City, Michigan, USA) was a French figure skater and two-time Olympic champion in pair skating.

Contents

Biography

Brunet and her partner Pierre Brunet are considered groundbreakers in early pair skating. They are credited with creating mirror skating, and new jumps, lifts, and spins.[1] At their first Olympic games, the 1924 Games in Chamonix, they performed more skills than any pair previously had. However, the judges thought they performed too many tricks, and they were awarded only the bronze. Other skaters took note though, and the Joly/Brunet style quickly became common in the sport.[2] Joly and Brunet continued to perform skills previously unseen in pair skating. Joly was also among the first female skaters to wear a black dress to match her partner's outfit, rather than the traditional white dress.[3]

Joly and Brunet soon became dominant in pair skating. They were French national champions from 1924 until 1935, and won four World Championships, competing in alternate years (1926, 1928, 1930, and 1932). They were Olympic champions in 1928 and 1932. They refused to defend their title at the Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 Winter Olympics, however, in protest of Nazi Germany.[1][4]

Joly and Brunet also competed in individual events—Joly placed 5th and 11th at the 1924 and 1928 Olympics, respectively.[5] She was also the French women's champion from 1921 to 1931.[1]

Pierre and Andrée were married in 1929 (and thereafter competed under the name "Brunet" instead of her maiden name "Joly"). In 1936 they turned professional at toured Europe and Canada. In 1940 they emigrated to the United States. They became coaches, and trained future Olympic champions Carol Heiss and Scott Hamilton. They coached in New York, Illinois, and Michigan until retiring in 1979.

The couple had a son, Jean-Pierre, who became the U.S. pairs champion with Donna Jeanne Pospisil in 1945 and 1946.

The Brunets were inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1976.[6]

Results

Ladies singles

Event 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930
Winter Olympic Games 5th 11th
French Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st

Pairs (with Pierre Brunet)

Event 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935
Winter Olympic Games 3rd 1st 1st
World Championships 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st
European Championships 1st
French Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st

References

  1. ^ a b c Andrée Brunet and Pierre Brunet at britannica.com, accessed July 12, 2006.
  2. ^ Figure Skaters—Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet, accessed July 12, 2006.
  3. ^ Andrée Joly & Pierre Brunet at parisonice.net, accessed July 12, 2006.
  4. ^ Great Olympians Biographies - BR, accessed July 12, 2006.
  5. ^ Great Olympians Biographies - JO, accessed July 12, 2006.
  6. ^ Hall of Fame inductees, accessed July 12, 2006.

External links