How could we imagine that a kid who grew up in the village, in a small isolated sheepfold which initially had neither water nor electricity, would become an extraordinary athlete, pushing the limits of her sport, and an icon of anti-racism? ?
Gilette, gateway to Estéron, 45 minutes drive from Nice. Surya Bonaly lived and grew up here, 3 kilometers from the village, until he was 12 years old. Before leaving for Paris, in 1986, to conquer his destiny and his titles in figure skating.
The one who was, among others, nine times French champion, five times European champion, three times world championship silver medalist, has had the feeling of being confronted with racism throughout her career. Like in 1994, when she withdrew her silver medal at the world championships. And to think that it all started in a ruin, bought for a pittance…
A ruin without a roof or running water
At 50, she now coaches in Minneapolis, in the United States, from where she agreed to return with Nice-Morning about what was initially a dream of his parents.
Happy memories. Suzanne and Georges were making more trips with their converted 4L when they learned that they were going to adopt Surya.
“They were city dwellers who wanted to live in the countryside, traces the champion. They wanted to return to the land and raise children with good foundations, close to nature. They were looking for freedom.”
The parents don't have a lot of resources. And Suzanne, a dance teacher in Nice, doesn't want to stray too far from her job. They buy a small property in Gilette. A ruined sheepfold on three hectares of land. They call him Sannyasawhich means, in Sanskrit, “one who is not attached to material goods”.
Milk the goats morning and evening
“We really weren't a wealthy family but they were able to buy this ruin. At the beginning, there were only four walls, there was no roof! We rebuilt this house from A to Z , without ever calling on professionals, for example, we brought back the stones one by one.”
There is no water or electricity. “We lived independently. We went to fetch water from the spring a little further away and we used a gas bottle to cook. Everything was organized. It was original. These images leave a lasting impression. In the common sense.”
Over the years, the sheepfold took shape. And beasts are coming. A donkey, a horse, to take care of the land. Then goats. One, two… And finally 26. “They're a kind, familiar animal. We had to milk them morning and evening, even if we were tired. And since we didn't have TV, it was part of our daily life.” Here as with everything else, little Surya participates in the tasks.
Homeschool
The girl truly lives in self-sufficiency within the family, who decided to educate her at home, thanks to the CNED. “We lived 30 kilometers from the city”explains Surya. It is his father, less busy with his work as a road infrastructure designer, who takes care of it the most.
Which does not prevent them from having some contact with the village center. “We had olive trees. We picked and went to Gilette, where there was the mill, to make olive oil”.
But his destiny awaits him through the daily life of his mother, Suzanne, a volunteer at the Cavigal sports club in Nice. She takes her little daughter everywhere, who does everything: athletics, fencing, tennis, ice rink. At two years old, she put on her first skates, while her mother gave lessons. “It was part of his schedule. I was there, I had to do something”. The obvious. “I was pretty strong in everything I touched.”
Sport, sport and more sport
Surya has always been a small guy. What was his future at stake? “I was always the smallest. At tennis, they said I was too small, and I never came back. At the gym, they welcomed me with open arms.” Passionate about gymnastics and skating, it was disagreements with coaches that pushed her towards the sport that took her to the roof of the world.
Her faculties exploded because she had this flexibility. Homeschooling, exposure to lots of disciplines, while kids his age sat in classrooms. “It was free, it happened slowly, as I grew up. The teacher said: come a little more. Then more… It was like a vicious circle, we never stopped.”
“A tear to leave”
It was therefore in this small sheepfold that the powerful bonds that united the Bonaly family were born. Bonds so strong that they marked Surya's journey when his career exploded in the 1990s. The media often questioned Suzanne's control, who bypassed coaches and federations, and communicated with her daughter on the ice in a coded language, based on signs.
These strong bonds which were the driving force behind everything. Impossible to break. “This life in the countryside has brought me many opportunities, Surya Bonaly thinks. It opened my eyes to lots of things, living close to nature, with animals. 30 years ago, we found this palace and now it’s normal.”
This life was his parents' dream. They abandoned her to give their daughter a chance, leaving for the Paris region when she turned twelve. A huge sacrifice. “Gilette, it has always been part of our heart, she finally said. It was a struggle to leave. When I went to Paris, my father stayed in Gilette for a year, but we only saw each other two or three times. To be with us, he sold everything, he got rid of the animals. Nobody talks about it in my family. It's almost taboo, between my father and me. We've had a lump in our stomach for thirty years.”
Since then, the sheepfold has disappeared, melted into a real estate project. Surya Bonaly made history.
