Pierre Émile Ernest Brunet (28 June 1902 – 27 July 1991) was a

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 his wife Andrée Brunet he 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 ...

. He also competed in singles, winning the national title in 1924–1931 and finishing seventh-eighth at the

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...

and

1928 Winter Olympics The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games (; ; ; ) and commonly known as St. Moritz 1928 (; ), were an international winter multi-sport event that was celebrated from 11 to 19 February 1928 in St. Moritz, Swit ...

.Pierre Brunet
sports-reference.comAndrée Brunet and Pierre Brunet
Encyclopædia Britannica.

Biography

Brunet was born in Paris, France. He and his partner

Andrée Joly Andrée or Andree may refer to: People * Andrée (given name) * Andree (surname) Places * Andree, Minnesota, unincorporated community in Stanchfield Township, Isanti County, Minnesota * 1296 Andrée, asteroid * Andrée Land (Svalbard) * Andrée La ...

were the French national champions from 1924 until 1935, and won three Olympic medals. They refused to defend their title at the

1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936, were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 February 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Nazi Ger ...

, however, in protest over

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

Germany. The pair won four World Championships, competing in alternate years. 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 Herma Szabo (22 February 1902 – 7 May 1986) was an Austrian figure skater who competed in ladies' singles and pairs. As a single skater, she became the 1924 Olympic champion and a five-time world champion (1922–1926). She also won two wor ...

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

. As a single skater, Brunet won ten national titles. He placed 8th (last) as a single skater 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 ...

and 7th at the

. Brunet and Joly were married in 1929. They had a son, Jean-Pierre, who went on to compete for the United States. He died at age 19 in an auto accident. 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.Andrée Brunet-Joly
sports-reference.com Andrée Joly 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 Pierre Brunet died in

Boyne City, Michigan Boyne City () is a city in Charlevoix County, Michigan, Charlevoix County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,816 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the largest city in Charlevoix County. Boyne City is locat ...

Results

Men's singles Pairs (with

)

References

External links

Skatabase: 1920s Olympics: Singles Results

Pairs on Ice: Andrée Joly & Pierre Brunet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunet, Pierre 1902 births 1991 deaths French male single skaters French male pair 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 European champions for France 20th-century French sportsmen