Staff Photo by Angela Lewis/Chattanooga Times Free Press
Bonnie St. John speaks at the Siskin Hospital for Rehabilitation’s Possibilities luncheon Wednesday at the Chattanooga Convention Center.As the disabled daughter of a single mother struggling to make ends meet, Bonnie St. John was floored when a rich, white friend invited her to go skiing with her family.
“How many of you would have the guts to turn to your one-legged, black friend when you’re 15 years old and say, ‘Skier!'” she asked.
But taking that leap of faith ignited a passion in St. John, whose underdeveloped right leg had been amputated just above the knee when she was 5.
St. John ended up taking time away from college to become a “ski bum,” balancing on a single ski and racing down the slopes.
She qualified for the 1984 Paralympics team and came away from the competition in Austria with bronze medals and one silver. She broke barriers as the first African-American to win Olympic medals in ski racing.