👤 Who Is Bonnie St. John?
Bonnie St. John is an athlete, author, and leader. When she was just 5 years old, doctors had to remove part of her right leg. She grew up to become a Paralympic ski racer — and won medals competing against the world's best!
Bonnie St. John is an American athlete, author, and public speaker born on November 7, 1964. Bonnie went on to become a champion ski racer, a top student, and a leader in government.
She became the first Black American to win medals in Winter Paralympic competition when she took home a silver and two bronze medals at the 1984 Paralympics in Innsbruck, Austria. She later graduated from Harvard University, won a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University in England, and was appointed to work at the White House.
Bonnie St. John (born November 7, 1964, in Detroit, Michigan) is a former Paralympic alpine skier, bestselling author, motivational speaker, and business executive.
At the 1984 Winter Paralympics in Innsbruck, Austria, St. John became the first Black American to win medals in any Paralympic Games — earning bronze in the slalom, bronze in the giant slalom, and silver for overall alpine performance, making her the second-fastest Paralympic skier in the world that year. She went on to graduate magna cum laude from a world-renowned university, earn a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, serve as a director on President Clinton's White House National Economic Council, and found Blue Circle Leadership — a consulting firm advising Fortune 500 companies including Microsoft, Target, and FedEx.
"I was ahead in the slalom. But in the second run, everyone fell on a dangerous spot. I was beaten by a woman that got up faster than I did. I learned that people fall down, winners get up, and gold medal winners just get up faster."— Bonnie St. John, as featured on paper coffee cups nationwide (2006)
🌱 Growing Up
Bonnie grew up in San Diego, California — a warm, sunny place with no snow! When she was 15, a friend took her on a ski trip. Bonnie fell down a lot at first, but she loved it and kept trying.
Bonnie was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in San Diego, California. Her right leg was amputated at age 5, but she remained active and determined. At age 15, a friend invited her on a ski trip. Even though she had no training, no protective clothes, and had never seen much snow, Bonnie fell in love with skiing that very first day.
She borrowed special ski poles called outriggers from an amputee ski club and began practicing every weekend. She had no coach, so she taught herself using instructions she found in books. With hard work and creativity, Bonnie quickly improved and began entering races.
Bonnie grew up in San Diego, California, a city with no snow — an unlikely starting point for a ski champion. She had her right leg amputated below the knee at age 5 due to a condition called proximal femoral focal deficiency. At age 15, a friend's invitation to a ski trip changed her life forever. Armed with borrowed outrigger poles, jeans, and a windbreaker, Bonnie fell repeatedly but was immediately captivated by the sport.
With no formal coaching available for amputee skiers, Bonnie was largely self-taught, supplementing whatever guidance she could find with books and sheer determination. She connected with the National Brotherhood of Skiers — an organization focused on placing a Black skier on the U.S. Ski Team — who became key sponsors, providing the financial support she needed to continue training. She trained at Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont, and one summer even lived on a glacier at Mount Hood, Oregon to ski year-round despite San Diego's warm climate.
Her university application so astonished admissions officers that one called her mother to ask: "We just need to verify that she really exists. We have graduates who make up a gag application every year and we thought this might be one of them."
🏅 Making History on the Slopes
Bonnie practiced and practiced until she was good enough to race against the best athletes in the world! She went all the way to Austria — a country in Europe — and raced down snowy mountains on one leg. Instead of regular ski poles, she uses special poles called outriggers that help her balance and steer.
She won THREE medals! That made her one of the fastest skiers in the whole world.
At the 1984 Winter Paralympics in Innsbruck, Austria, Bonnie St. John made history. Skiing on one leg and steering with outriggers, she raced against the world's best Paralympic skiers and won a bronze medal in the slalom, a bronze medal in the giant slalom, and a silver medal for her overall performance. This made her the second-fastest Paralympic skier in the entire world that year.
Most importantly, she was the first Black American ever to win medals in Winter Paralympic competition — and the first Black American to win medals at any Paralympic Games.
The 1984 Winter Paralympics in Innsbruck, Austria marked a turning point in both Bonnie's life and the history of Paralympic sport. Having navigated years of self-funded, largely self-taught training, she arrived at the Games without expecting to make the podium. Competing on one leg with outriggers, she led the field in the slalom's first run — then fell on a treacherous icy patch in the second run that claimed many competitors. She got up, crossed the finish line, and took the bronze. The lesson she drew from that moment — that winners get up, and gold medal winners get up faster — became the cornerstone of her life's message.
Her final tally: bronze in slalom, bronze in giant slalom, and silver for overall alpine performance — making her the second-fastest Paralympic skier in the world in 1984. In doing so, she became the first Black American to win medals at any Paralympic Games — in a sport that had rarely seen Black athletes at any level, let alone on the podium.
🎓 A Life of Many Firsts
After winning her medals, Bonnie went on to study at some of the most prestigious universities in the world. Then she won a special scholarship to continue her studies in England. Later, the President of the United States asked her to come work at the White House and help the country.
After the 1984 Paralympics, Bonnie graduated with high honors from a prestigious university in 1986. She then won a Rhodes Scholarship — one of the world's most competitive academic awards — and studied economics in England, earning her master's degree in 1990.
In 1992, President Bill Clinton appointed her as a Director for Human Capital Issues on the White House National Economic Council, one of the most senior economic policy roles ever held by a Black woman at that time. Later, she founded Blue Circle Leadership, a consulting firm, and wrote eight books including How Great Women Lead (co-authored with her daughter Darcy) and Straight Up: Be the Real You (2020, with Allen Haines).
St. John's post-athletic career has been as remarkable as her time on the slopes. She graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Government in 1986, then used her Rhodes Scholarship to earn an M.Litt. in Economics in England in 1990 — a portrait of her now hangs in the college's main hall as a distinguished alumna. After working in sales at IBM, she was appointed by President Clinton in 1992 as a Director for Human Capital Issues on the White House National Economic Council.
In her own words, reflecting on how each achievement built on the last: "I had a lot of success as an Olympic skier by the time I was 17 years old. That was my first experience with public recognition which led to making a lot of speeches and being seen as a representative of disabled people. Then I went to Harvard…I worked in the White House during the Clinton administration…Before long, I was writing books about success in business and in life" (BlackHer, 2019).
She founded Blue Circle Leadership, a consulting firm whose clients include Microsoft, Target, FedEx, Pepsi, and Disney. She has authored eight books, including Micro-Resilience (with husband Allen Haines), How Great Women Lead (with daughter Darcy Deane), and Straight Up: Be the Real You (2020, also with Allen Haines). President Obama appointed her to represent the United States at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Paralympics and the 2016 Rio Summer Paralympics.
💪🏽 Challenges & Resilience
Bonnie faced barriers that most skiers never had to think about — she had limited funding, lived in a city with no snow, and was one of the very few Black women in her sport. She also had no coach who knew how to train an amputee skier, so she had to figure things out on her own. She kept finding solutions and getting back up every time she fell — on the slopes and in life.
Bonnie faced many challenges at the same time. She grew up with little money in a city with no snow. She was Black in a sport almost entirely made up of white athletes. And throughout much of her time in the sport, she had no coach who knew how to train an amputee skier.
She solved each problem creatively: she borrowed equipment, read books to self-coach, found sponsors through letter-writing campaigns, and earned scholarships to attend elite programs. Her ability to keep finding solutions — to "get back up faster" — became the message at the heart of everything she has done since.
She had faced limited funding, no access to snow, and the racial barriers of a sport where Black athletes were rarely seen or welcomed — and reached the top of the world anyway.
The obstacles Bonnie St. John navigated were layered and interconnected. As a Black woman with a physical disability in the overwhelmingly white world of alpine skiing, she occupied a space that had no established path. There was no "farm system to find one-legged Black skiers in San Diego," as she has said (International Paralympic Committee, 2023) — she had to create her own opportunities at every step, from borrowing outriggers to writing letters to equipment companies, from raising her own training funds to living on a glacier to keep skiing year-round.
Bonnie has also spoken openly about surviving childhood trauma, and about the role therapy and resilience played in her recovery and success. Her decision to address these experiences publicly — in books, speeches, and interviews — reflects her broader mission of equipping others with honest, practical tools rather than offering an unrealistic narrative of effortless triumph. As she told BlackHer: "I have devoted my whole life to helping people reach their potential. For me, the miracle happens when we, Black women, are able to achieve our full potential" (BlackHer, 2019).
✨ Fun Facts About Bonnie
She taught herself to ski from a book!
Her powerful words were printed on millions of paper coffee cups!
She studied at two of the most prestigious universities in the world!
She worked at the White House!
She had no coach who knew how to train an amputee skier — so she learned from books, practice, and sheer determination.
She spent one whole summer living on a glacier in Oregon just so she could ski all year!
In 2006, her famous quote about falling and getting back up appeared on paper coffee cups across America.
NBC News named her one of the five most inspiring women in America.
She wrote a book with her daughter after they traveled the world interviewing famous women leaders.
Her portrait hangs in the main hall of a famous university in England!
She wrote to a ski academy headmaster after reading his book — that letter led to her training at Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont.
She lived on a glacier at Mt. Hood, Oregon for an entire summer to train year-round, since San Diego had no snow.
Her university application was so extraordinary that admissions staff called her mother to confirm she was a real person.
Her portrait hangs in the main hall of a prestigious English university as a distinguished alumna.
She traveled the world with her teenage daughter Darcy to interview leaders including Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, Sheryl Sandberg, and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for their co-authored book.
President Obama appointed her to official U.S. delegations at both the 2010 Vancouver Winter Paralympics and the 2016 Rio Summer Paralympics.
⏳ Bonnie's Life Journey
📖 Words to Know
💬 Talk About It
- What does it mean to keep trying even when something is really hard?
- What is something you would keep trying even if it was really hard?
- Can you think of a time you kept trying at something hard?
- Bonnie faced challenges that most athletes never had to think about — no money, no snow, and being one of the very few Black athletes in her sport. How did she find ways to keep going anyway?
- Bonnie had to be creative to solve problems — borrowing equipment, writing letters, raising her own money. Can you think of a time you had to find a creative solution to a problem?
- Bonnie says "gold medal winners get up faster." What do you think that means in everyday life — not just in sports?
- Why do you think Bonnie kept working hard in school after she was already a champion athlete?
- Bonnie faced challenges that most athletes never had to think about. How did she find creative ways to solve each one?
- Wayne, Bonnie's brother, said she had to "cover a lot of ground just to get to the starting line." What do you think he meant by that?
- How do you think Bonnie's experiences as an athlete, a student, and a leader connect to the work she does today helping others?
- What does "resilience" mean to you personally? Is that different from simply "never giving up"?