Andrée Brunet and Pierre Brunet

Andrée Brunet and Pierre Brunet were French figure skaters who were the outstanding pairs performers of their time. They won consecutive Olympic gold medals in 1928 and 1932.

(Read Scott Hamilton’s Britannica entry on figure skating.)

Brunet and Joly each competed individually before their Olympic debut in 1924. Brunet became a national hero in France by winning consecutive national titles between 1924 and 1930. Joly was the French women’s champion from 1921 to 1931.

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After a disappointing bronze at the 1924 Olympics in Chamonix, France, Brunet and Joly dominated pairs skating with world titles in 1926, 1928, 1930, and 1932 (they competed only in even years). At the 1928 Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland, they narrowly defeated contenders from Austria. They married in 1929 and successfully defended their Olympic title at the 1932 Games in Lake Placid, New York, gaining international repute for their graceful, precise, and sometimes revolutionary performances.

(Read Scott Hamilton’s Britannica essay on "Training for Olympic Gold.")

Opposed to the Nazi government in Germany, the Brunets refused to skate at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Instead they toured Europe and Canada as professionals, immigrating to the United States in 1940. The Brunets taught and coached at the New York Skating Club, encouraging the talent of such pupils as Carol Heiss, who would later win a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics. They also worked with Canadian Donald Jackson, the first person to land a triple lutz in competition, French world champion Alain Giletti (1960), and American gold medalist Dorothy Hamill. The Brunets continued to coach in New York, Illinois, and Michigan until they retired in 1979.

A perfectionist from an engineering background, Brunet brought a technical cleanness and precision of style to figure skating, while Joly broke with figure-skating convention by wearing black skates like her partner instead of the traditional women’s white. They invented new spins, created mirror skating, and added new jumps and lifts to the repertoire of pairs skating.

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