Vanessa James
 James and Ciprès at the 2016 Trophée de France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 27 September 1987 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.61 m (5 ft 3 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Figure skating career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Canada (2021–22) France (2008–19) Great Britain (2005–08) United States (2002–05) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Pair skating (2008–22) Women's singles (2002–08) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Partner | Eric Radford (2021–22) Morgan Ciprès (2011–19) Yannick Bonheur (2008–10) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Began skating | 1998 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest WS | 6th (2016–17 & 2017–18) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Vanessa James Amoros (née James; born 27 September 1987) is a Canadian retired pair skater. Representing France with her former skating partner, Morgan Ciprès, she is the 2019 European Champion, the 2018 World bronze medallist, the 2017 European bronze medallist, the 2018 Grand Prix Final champion, and a six-time French national champion. They have also won medals in Grand Prix and Challenger Series competitions. James and Ciprès competed at the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics.
With her previous partner Yannick Bonheur, James represented France at the 2010 Winter Olympics, placing fourteenth. She also competed as a ladies' singles skater representing the United States and Great Britain; she is the 2006 British national champion in ladies' singles.
In April 2021, James announced the formation of a new partnership with Eric Radford, representing Canada.[1] They represented Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics and were the bronze medalists at the 2022 World Championships, before retiring.[2][3]
Personal life
[edit]Vanessa James was born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.[4] She lived in Bermuda until age 10 when her family moved to Virginia in the United States.[5] She lived in the U.S. through 2007, holding an American permanent residence card, and then moved to Paris, France.[6] Her father is from Bermuda, which enabled James to hold British citizenship. She became a French citizen in December 2009.[7] Her twin sister, Melyssa James, has also competed in figure skating.[5] James' hobbies include tennis, dancing, and reading.
In 2024, she married French national judo champion Jordan Amoros.[8]
Career
[edit]Early years
[edit]Vanessa James began skating with her sister after watching the 1998 Winter Olympics.[5] She originally competed domestically in the United States and represented the Washington Figure Skating Club.
In 2005, James began representing Great Britain internationally. She won gold at the 2006 British Championships and silver in 2007, becoming Britain's first black figure skating champion.[9] She competed for Britain on the 2006 ISU Junior Grand Prix and at the 2007 World Junior Championships. Her last event as a singles skater was the 2007 International Cup of Nice, where she won the bronze medal.
In late 2007, James switched to pair skating, partnering briefly with British skater Hamish Gaman.[9] She teamed up with French skater Yannick Bonheur in December 2007, after a three-day tryout in Paris.[6]
2008–2009 season: Debut of James/Bonheur
[edit]Making their international debut, James/Bonheur placed seventh in November at their Grand Prix assignment, the 2008 Trophée Eric Bompard. They ranked tenth at the 2009 European Championships, which took place in January in Helsinki, Finland.
In March, James/Bonheur finished twelfth at the 2009 World Championships in Los Angeles, California, United States. Due to their result, France qualified a spot in the pairs' event at the next Olympics. In April, they competed at the 2009 World Team Trophy in Tokyo, Japan.
2009–2010 season: Vancouver Olympics
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James/Bonheur opened their season at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy, where they placed 6th. They were invited to two Grand Prix events, the 2009 Cup of China and 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard, and finished eighth at both. They ranked second in the short program and first in the free skate at the 2010 French Championships. They won the title, outscoring the silver medalists Adeline Canac / Maximin Coia by 3.69 points.
In January, James/Bonheur placed seventh at the 2010 European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia. In February, they represented France at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; they placed fifteenth in the short program, fourteenth in the free skate, and fourteenth overall. James/Bonheur were the first black pair to compete at the Olympics.[10] Their final competition together was the 2010 World Championships, held in March in Turin, Italy. They placed tenth in the short, thirteenth in the free, and twelfth overall. They ended their partnership in the spring of 2010.[11] James later recalled that they "weren't progressing, and we weren't able to work well together anymore."[12]
2010–2011 season
[edit]In May 2010, James had a successful tryout with Maximin Coia, and the two agreed to train in Germany with Ingo Steuer, but several weeks later, Coia decided to end his amateur career.[13]
In September 2010, James began a partnership with Morgan Ciprès, until then, a singles skater.[11][14] They made no competitive appearances in their first season as Ciprès learned pairs elements.[15] Eight years later, James recalled the beginning of her partnership: "I remember our 3-day trial, and it was so fun. He was so funny because he had never done pairs before, so he was really nervous and saying 'oh my gosh, oh my gosh' every time he threw me. I knew that we were going to be good friends."[16]
2011–2012 season: Debut of James/Ciprès
[edit]James/Ciprès made their competitive debut in late September 2011, finishing fifth at the 2011 Ondrej Nepela Memorial. After placing fifth at the 2011 Coupe de Nice, the pair finished eighth at their first Grand Prix together, the 2011 Trophee Eric Bompard. At the 2012 French Championships, they ranked first in the short program and second in the free skate. With a total score 8.92 points lower than Daria Popova / Bruno Massot, James/Ciprès received the silver medal.
Finishing sixth overall, James/Ciprès were the best French pair (outscoring Popova/Massot by almost 12 points) at the 2012 European Championships in Sheffield, England. They were granted France's lone spot in pairs at the 2012 World Championships in Nice, France. The two qualified to the final segment in Nice and finished sixteenth overall.
2012–2013 season
[edit]James/Ciprès won the bronze medal at the 2012 Nebelhorn Trophy—their first international medal as a pair.[17] Their 2012 Grand Prix assignments were Skate America, where they placed fourth, and the Trophee Eric Bompard, where they came in sixth. James/Ciprès won another international medal at the 2012 NRW Trophy and followed that with their first national title in December.
In January, James/Ciprès came in fourth at the 2013 European Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. After taking gold at the 2013 International Challenge Cup, they placed eighth at the 2013 World Championships in London, Ontario. Due to their result in Canada, they qualified a spot for France in the pairs' event at the Sochi Olympics.
2013–2014 season: Sochi Olympics
[edit]James/Ciprès were again assigned to Skate America and the Trophee Eric Bompard. Ciprès underwent surgery after a wrist injury and had to avoid lifts for a period, causing the pair to withdraw from Skate America.[18][19] They were able to compete at the Trophee Eric Bompard and placed fifth. The pair then successfully defended their national title.
At the 2014 Europeans, James/Ciprès set personal best scores in both segments of the competition and came in fifth. They were named in the French team to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where they placed tenth in the pairs event and sixth in the team event. They repeated their results at the 2014 World Championships.
2014–2015 season
[edit]James/Ciprès finished fourth at the 2014 CS Nebelhorn Trophy and fifth at both of their Grand Prix assignments, the 2014 Skate Canada International and 2014 Trophée Éric Bompard.
They placed third in the short program, earning a small medal, their first, and fifth overall at the 2015 European Championships in Stockholm. They placed ninth at the 2015 World Championships in Shanghai. The two later competed at the 2015 World Team Trophy in Tokyo, where they placed fifth individually and sixth as a team.
2015–2016 season: First Grand Prix medal
[edit]James/Ciprès began their season with a bronze medal at the 2015 CS Nebelhorn Trophy. They placed second in the short program at the 2015 Trophée Éric Bompard before the event's cancellation due to the November 2015 Paris attacks. The ISU deemed those placements the final results, awarding James/Ciprès their first Grand Prix medal, silver.
The pair finished fourth at the 2016 European Championships in Bratislava and tenth at the 2016 World Championships in Boston. At the end of the season, they concluded that they needed a major change if they were to continue competing.[20] James said, "either we improve, or we stop. There was no point in anything else."[12]
2016–2017 season: European bronze medal
[edit]In June 2016, James/Ciprès relocated to Coral Springs, Florida to be coached by John Zimmerman and Jeremy Barrett.[21][22][23] After taking silver at the 2016 CS Autumn Classic International, the pair competed at two Grand Prix events; they finished fourth at the 2016 Skate America and won the bronze medal at the 2016 Trophée de France.
In January 2017, James/Ciprès won the bronze medal at the