Andrée Brunet ( Joly, 16 September 1901 – 30 March 1993) was a French
figure skater
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
. Together with her husband
Pierre Brunet she won Olympic medals in 1924, 1928 and 1932, as well as four world titles between 1926 and 1932 in
pair skating
Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...
. She also competed in singles, winning the national title in 1921–1930 and finishing fifth at the
1924 Winter Olympics
The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games (french: Iers Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Chamonix 1924 ( frp, Chamôni 1924), were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France ...
.
[Andrée Brunet-Joly]
sports-reference.com
Biography
Andrée and Pierre are credited with creating mirror skating, new jumps, lifts, and spins.
[Andrée Brunet and Pierre Brunet](_blank)
Encyclopædia Britannica. 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.
[Figure Skaters—Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet](_blank)
accessed 12 July 2006. 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.
[Andrée Joly & Pierre Brunet at parisonice.net](_blank)
accessed 12 July 2006.
Andrée and Pierre soon became the leading skating pair. 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
Events January
* January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA.
* January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...
and
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
. She was one of the
oldest female figure skating Olympic champions. They refused to defend their title at the
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the O ...
1936 Winter Olympics
The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games (german: IV. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 ( bar, Garmasch-Partakurch 1936), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 ...
, however, in protest of
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
Germany.
[Great Olympians Biographies – BR](_blank)
accessed 12 July 2006.
Joly and Brunet also competed in individual events—Joly placed 5th and 11th at the 1924 and 1928 Olympics, respectively.
accessed 12 July 2006. She was also the French women's champion from 1921 to 1931.
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 and toured Europe and Canada. In 1940 they emigrated to the United States. They then became coaches, and trained future Olympic champions
Carol Heiss
Carol Elizabeth Heiss Jenkins (born January 20, 1940) is an American former figure skater and actress. Competing in ladies' singles, she became the 1960 Olympic champion, the 1956 Olympic silver medalist, and a five-time World champion (1956†...
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.
[Hall of Fame inductees](_blank)
worldskatingmuseum.org
Results
Ladies singles
Pairs (with
Pierre Brunet)
References
External links
Pairs on Ice: Andrée Joly & Pierre Brunet*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunet, Andree
1901 births
1993 deaths
Figure skaters from Paris
French female pair skaters
French female single skaters
French figure skating coaches
Olympic figure skaters of France
Olympic bronze medalists for France
Olympic gold medalists for France
Figure skaters at the 1924 Winter Olympics
Figure skaters at the 1928 Winter Olympics
Figure skaters at the 1932 Winter Olympics
Olympic medalists in figure skating
World Figure Skating Championships medalists
European Figure Skating Championships medalists
Medalists at the 1924 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 1928 Winter Olympics
Medalists at the 1932 Winter Olympics
French emigrants to the United States
European champions for France
20th-century French women