TWO IN A MILLION: SURYA BONALY & SIMONE BILES
Their careers started nearly 30 years apart and were separated by the Atlantic ocean but that’s where the differences cease and the intriguing connections of these two enigmatic sports figures come to light. The delightful and apparent epiphanies start on the surface with their skin color and initials but Simone and Surya go far beyond that. Here are seven facts that could be explained, shall we say, coincidence or providence? You decide….
THEY WERE BOTH ADOPTED.
Surya was born Dec 15, 1973 and just six months later was adopted by a French couple. Simone was born March 14, 1997 and grew up with her birth mother until she was three years old when she was adopted by her grandparents who could better take care of her.
GYMNASTICS CATAPULTED THEIR CAREERS.
Surya’s first brush in athletic competitions came when she was apart of the 1986 French tumbling team. Although Surya branched off to dedicate herself fulltime to figure skating at the age of 12, her foundation in acrobatics on ice was undoubtedly attributed to her early childhood involvement in gymnastics . It laid the groundwork for her famous back flip on ice she would become known for. Now I wish I could say Simone dabbled in figure skating early on and then decided to go do gymnastics but as far we know she didn’t partake in any skating…
