Vanessa James

Born in Scarborough, Ontario, on September 27, 1987, Vanessa James began her skating career at age 11, inspired by the Nagano 1998 Olympics. She initially competed as a junior singles skater, representing Great Britain during the 2006-2007 season and winning the British national champion title in 2006. In late 2007, James transitioned to pairs skating, forming a partnership with Yannick Bonheur, with whom she represented France. They made their Olympic debut at Vancouver 2010, marking a significant milestone as the first black pair to compete at the Olympic Games. After their partnership concluded, James formed a new association with Morgan Ciprès in September 2010. Over their nine-year partnership, James and Ciprès achieved considerable success, including a bronze medal at the 2017 European Championships, a bronze medal at the 2018 World Championships, and gold medals at both the 2018-2019 Grand Prix Final and the 2019 European Championships. They also competed in the Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.

Following the conclusion of her partnership with Ciprès in late 2019, James announced a new partnership with Canadian skater Eric Radford in April 2021, with the goal of competing at the Olympic Games. Representing Canada, they quickly achieved success, winning silver at their first international event, the Autumn Classic on the ISU Challenger Series. They subsequently participated in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, contributing to Canada’s fourth-place finish in the team event and placing 12th in the pairs event. A month later, James and Radford earned a bronze medal at the 2022 ISU World Championships before announcing their retirement from competitive skating in July 2022. Her career has also included appearances on CBC’s “Battle of the Blades” in 2019 and 2020.