Bonny Warner
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Bonny Warner (now Bonny Simi; born April 7, 1962, in Mount Baldy, California[1]) is an American luger who competed from the early 1980s to the early 1990s.[2] She later competed in women's bobsleigh from 1999 to 2002.[2] She was a pilot for United Airlines[2] from 1990 to 2004, when she quit United and went to work for JetBlue Airways.[3] In December 2020 she left Jet Blue and went to work for Joby Aviation as the Head of Air Operations.[4][5][6]
Warner's career in luge began when she was a torchbearer for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, while as a freshman from Stanford University.[2] While watching the luge competitions in Lake Placid, she became hooked on the event.[2] This would lead Warner to travel to West Germany and follow luge activities over there.[2] Warner would then learn to speak fluent German while over there.[2] While at Stanford, Warner switched her major from civil engineering to broadcast journalism after earning an athletic scholarship to play field hockey. Competing in three Winter Olympics, she earned her best finish of sixth in the women's singles event at Calgary in 1988.[7] Warner also organized Luge camps throughout the United States, which made a huge contribution to the growth of the sport in this country.
Broadcasting career
Following the 1992 Winter Olympics, Warner retired and served as a color commentator for CBS Sports during their coverage of the Winter Olympics in 1994 and 1998.[2] Prior to that, she had been a television sports reporter for the San Francisco area during the mid-1980s.[2]
Airline career
After the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Warner earned a 10,000 USD scholarship and earned her aviator's license.[2] Prior to joining United in November 1990, she worked as a flight instructor and a corporate pilot.[2] One of Warner's clients as a corporate pilot was the late promoter Bill Graham.[2]
Personal life
Warner married Tony Simi, a firefighter and paramedic who was in one of her classes in 1996.[2] A daughter was born in 1998.[2]