Figure skating-Malinin making history with skating's first Olympic backflip in decades

MILAN, Feb 12 : When Ilia Malinin launched himself into a backflip at the Milano Cortina Olympics, it detonated through the crowd like a firecracker and even brought tennis great Novak Djokovic to his feet with his hands on his head in disbelief.

The 21-year-old double world champion landed the first legal Olympic backflip since American Terry Kubicka in 1976, when he helped clinch gold for the U.S. in the team event in Milan on Sunday.

The crowd will get another chance to see Malinin's manoeuvre when he takes the ice for Friday's men's free programme as the favourite for gold.

The backflip was banned for safety reasons after Kubicka did one at the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics. 

The manoeuvre became known as the "Bonaly flip" after Surya Bonaly of France famously thumbed her nose at the International Skating Union's restrictive rules at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. 

Bonaly had suffered a groin injury the day before the free programme and knew her quest for a medal was over, and so defiantly unleashed the jump with a one-footed landing.

The ISU removed the somersault ban in June 2024, saying in their meeting agenda: "Somersault type jumps are very spectacular and nowadays it is not logical anymore to include them as illegal movements."

AERIAL SHOWMANSHIP

Malinin, the self-named "Quad God," has drawn global attention for his aerial showmanship. He became the first skater to land seven quadruple jumps in a programme at the Grand Prix Final in December. He is also the first to land the quadruple Axel in competition, considered the toughest jump in the sport. 

The backflip carries no set point value, but it can contribute to Malinin's component score - known under the old judging system as "artistic impression".

It also gets a bigger roar