Bruny Surin
Bruny Surin is a notable Canadian track-and-field athlete, best known for winning a gold medal as part of Canada's 4x100-meter relay team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Born in 1967 in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, he immigrated to Quebec, Canada, at the age of seven. Initially passionate about basketball, Surin transitioned to track and field at seventeen, eventually competing in both long jump and sprinting. He found significant success in sprinting, with achievements including a bronze medal in the 100 meters at the 1990 Commonwealth Games and multiple medals as part of the relay team in international competitions.
Surin faced challenges during his career, including injuries that affected his performance at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Following his athletic career, he became a motivational speaker and founded the Bruny Surin Foundation, which promotes active lifestyles and awards sports scholarships to youth. His legacy includes induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2024, along with various honors recognizing his contributions to sport and community. Surin's family continues his athletic legacy, with his daughters competing at collegiate and professional levels in track and tennis, respectively.
Bruny Surin
Olympic track-and-field athlete
- Born: July 12, 1967
- Place of Birth: Cap-Haïtien, Haiti
- Significance: Bruny Surin is a track-and-field athlete who won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics Games in Atlanta as part of Canada’s 4x100-meter-relay team. He emigrated from Haiti to Canada as a child. He was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. He later became a motivational speaker and started the Bruny Surin Foundation for young people.
Background
Bruny Surin was born in 1967 in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti. He immigrated to Quebec, Canada, with his family when he was seven years old. During his high school years, Surin developed a passion for basketball. However, at seventeen, he became interested in track and field and started training for a career in the sport.
Shortly after graduating high school, Surin made his professional debut at the 1987 Pan American Games. He qualified for the long-jump competition for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, where he finished fifteenth. He attracted the attention of athletic manager and talent scout Enrico Dionisi, who persuaded Surin to train with the Italian coach Franco Barucci.
After Surin arrived in Siena, Italy, for training, Barucci noticed that he was better suited for the 100-meter dash than the long jump. Although for a time Surin continued to compete in the long jump, placing seventh in the 1990 Commonwealth Games, he soon switched to the 100-meter exclusively.
Switch to Sprinting
Surin debuted as a sprinter in the 100-meter dash at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, winning the bronze medal. Surin continued to excel as a sprinter, placing eighth in the 100 meters at the 1991 World Championships and fourth in the 100 meters at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. During the 1992 Summer Olympics, he also made his debut as a part of the Canadian 4x100-meter-relay team; the team reached the semifinals.
Surin began to have more success as a member of the relay race team than as a solo sprinter. This first became apparent during the 1993 World Championships; Surin finished fifth in the 100 meters but earned a bronze medal as a member of the Canadian 4x100-meter-relay team. At the 1994 Commonwealth Games, Surin earned the gold medal as part of the 4x100-meter-relay team. However, he did not advance past the semifinal of the 100-meter dash, and as a result, he began to focus more on the relay event. At the 1995 World Championships, Surin made a bit of a comeback in 100 meters, earning a silver medal. During the same competition, he and the Canadian relay team won gold.
Gold Medal Olympian
Surin’s next big athletic achievement was at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The Canadian 4x100-meter team was projected to lose to the American team. The Canadian team finished the race in 37.69 seconds, besting the US team by less than half a second and establishing themselves as the best relay team in the world. The relay was one of three events in which Canadians won gold medals (Donovan Bailey, part of the relay team, also won gold in the 100-meter dash). The Canadian relay team followed up its Olympics performance by winning gold medals at the 1997 World Championships and the 1998 Goodwill Games. Surin also continued running in the 100 meters, winning a silver medal at the 1999 World Championships.
Later Years
Surin was projected to medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. However, at the Canadian championships earlier in the year, he suffered a leg injury. The injury was not fully healed by the Olympics, and he was eliminated in the semifinals of the 100 meters. His final major championship race was in the 100-meter dash at the 2001 World Championships. He reinjured his leg and was taken off the track in a wheelchair.
Even after his Olympic and World Championship careers ended, Surin continued to race, winning the 50-meter dash at the 2009 McGill Open in the forty-to-forty-four-year-old age group with a time of 6.15 seconds. In the same year, Surin published an autobiography, cowritten with Saïd Khalil, called Bruny Surin: Le Lion Tranquille, which chronicles his long career as a track-and-field athlete and a member of the Canadian relay team.
Surin later became a motivational speaker. He was also the CEO and director of the Bruny Surin Foundation, which he started in 2002. The foundation promotes an active lifestyle among young people to help prevent them from dropping out of school. The organization awards $20,000 in sports scholarships annually. He was the chef de mission, or leader, of the Canadian team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the assistant-chef de mission of the Canadian team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and the chef de mission of the Canadian team at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2018.
Impact
Bruny Surin became one of Canada’s highest-rated sprinters and one of the best known in the world. In 2024, he was inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame. He and his teammates from the 1996 relay team—Robert Esmie, Carlton Chambers, Glenroy Gilbert, and Bailey—were inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. He received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 and was named to the National Order of Quebec in 2018. In 2015, he was selected to carry the torch atop the CN Tower, the tallest structure in Canada, to usher in the Pan American Games, which were held in Toronto that year.
Personal Life
Surin was managed professionally by his wife, Bianelle Legros-Surin. The couple had two daughters. One, Katherine Surin, became a competitive track-and-field athlete for the University of Nevada, and the other, Kimberley-Ann Surin, became a professional tennis player. One of Surin’s cousins is Edrick Floréal, who became the Canadian record holder in the triple jump.
Bibliography
"Bruny Surin." Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada, 7 Feb. 2016. Web. 25 Aug. 2016.
"Bruny Surin." Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference, n.d. Web. 25 Aug. 2016.
"Bruny Surin Foundation: A Step Forward in Achieving Equitable Opportunities," www.surin.ca/en/foundation/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
"Bruny Surin Leading Team Canada with Style and Wisdom." The Caribbean Camera, Inc., 26 Apr. 2024, thecaribbeancamera.com/bruny-surin-team-canada-chef-de-mission-paris-2024/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024. Ewing, Lori. "Bruny Surin’s Daughter Chooses a Different Sporting Path." Globe and Mail. Canadian Press, 24 Apr. 2012. Web. 26 Aug. 2016.
Loriggio, Paola. "Surin Overcame Fear of Heights for CN Tower Stunt." Orangeville.com. Canadian Press, 12 July 2015. Web. 25 Aug. 2016.