'Bonaly flip': Olympic skating backflip sparks tributes to French trailblazer

Ilia Malinin, the US figure skater nicknamed the “Quad God”, became the first person to legally land a backflip on one skate in the Olympics – although one trailblazing woman pulled it off when the move was still forbidden.

The 21-year-old from Virginia delivered a crucial free skate on Sunday night for the winning American team, filled with his trademark quadruple jumps, and punctuated the gold medal-clinching performance with his dramatic backflip.

It’s a move known today as “the Bonaly flip” – named for France’s Surya Bonaly. Nevertheless, it is Malinin getting showered with praise, prompting many on social media to lament the way his achievement has eclipsed that of Bonaly, who is Black, and wondering if that is due to the colour of her skin.

Ari Lu, 49, was among those on TikTok saying the figure skating world owed Bonaly an apology. Where Malinin is praised for his athleticism, Bonaly was judged, she told The Associated Press in a text message on Monday.

“Something a Black person used to be derided for is now celebrated when done by a white person,” said Lu, who is Black herself. She added that critiques of Bonaly at the time appeared related to her appearance rather than her skills.

The first person to pull off a backflip at the Olympics was former US champion Terry Kubicka, in 1976, and he landed on two skates. The International Skating Union swiftly banned the backflip, considering it too dangerous.

Over 20 years later, at the 1998 Nagano Games, France’s Surya Bonaly flouted the rules and executed a backflip, this time landing on a single blade – an exclamation point to mark her final performance as a professional figure skater. The crowd cheered, and one television commentator exclaimed, “I think she's done