Videos: 12 Yr Old Vanessa and Melyssa James
Watch where it all began with a few videos showing Bermudian Olympic figure skater Vanessa James skating alongside her twin sister Melyssa James in 1998/9.
Vanessa went on to compete in Olympic pairs skating in 2010 placing 14th. Along her climb to the top she achieved the honour of being not only the first black woman to win the British National Title, but also being one half of the first black pairs skaters to compete at Olympic level.
Her twin Melyssa, a successful skater in her own right, is a former British and Welsh National Ice Dancing champion.
Although they both represent European nations [France and England] they both lived in Bermuda as a children attending the Mount Saint Agnes Academy. Their Bermudian father is Kevin James, and they are the granddaughters of Devonshire residents Carlton and Ethlyn James.
The first two videos show the twins skating together in their first pairs show:
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Vanessa skating solo in 1998 during her first ever figure skating competition:
