Ivette Bonapart

Ivette Bonapart was a Surinamese track and field athlete who specialised as a sprinter. Bonapart was the first woman to compete for Suriname at the Olympics when she ran in the 100 and 200 metres at the 1988 Seoul Games. A year later she had relocated to the Netherlands where she joined the Rotterdam Athletics Association. In 1991 she had broken the Surinamese records in both the 100 and 200 metres. A year later she also broke the national record in the 100 metres hurdles, with the record still standing at the time of her death in June 2023. In the Netherlands she ran in all the sprint events at the national championships, becoming the Dutch champion in the 4 x 100 metres in 1991. Bonapart was always proud of her heritage, which saw her helping in sending sports equipment to Suriname. She later worked as a physiotherapist for athletes competing in school sports tournaments.

Personal Bests: 100 – 11.98 (1991); 200 – 24.59 (1991).