Andrée Marguerite Blanche 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, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

. 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 ...

. 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 () and commonly known as Chamonix 1924 (), were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. Originally held in association with the 1924 Summer ...

Biography

Andrée Brunet and Pierre Brunet are credited with creating mirror skating, new jumps, lifts, and spins.Andrée Brunet and Pierre Brunet
Encyclopædia Britannica. At their first Olympic games, the 1924 Games in

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, department in the regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the f ...

, 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
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
, accessed 12 July 2006. Joly and Brunet were the first French skaters to win gold medals in World, European, and Olympic competitions. They won bronze medals at the 1924 Olympic Winter Games. At the 1925 World Championships, they came in second place behind Herma Szabo and Ludwig Wrede from Austria, in what figure skating historian James M. Hines calls "one of the closest contests in pair skating history". They won every competition they entered after that: the 1932 European Championships; the World Championships in

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on 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 ...

; and two Olympic titles in

and

. Joly and Brunet also competed in individual events—Joly placed 5th and 11th at the 1924 and 1928 Olympics, respectively.Great Olympians Biographies – JO
accessed 12 July 2006. She was also the French women's champion from 1921 to 1931. Joly married Brunet in 1927 (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 New York. 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 Figure skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics – Women's singles, 1960 Olympic champion, the Figure ...

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. Andrée Brunet and Pierre Brunet were inducted into the

World Figure Skating Hall of Fame The World Figure Skating Hall of Fame serves as a repository for the sport of figure skating. The World Figure Skating Hall of Fame is where the greatest names in the history of the sport are honored. It is located at the Broadmoor Resort in Co ...

in 1976, as part of the first class of inductees.Hines, p. 46

Results

Ladies singles Pairs (with Pierre Brunet)

References

External links

* * * {{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 for 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 artists 20th-century French sportswomen