After Ilia Mainin made waves with the first legal backflip on the Olympic stage, retired French figure skater Surya Bonaly opened up about her backflip in 1998, and how it reignited attention after the US prodigy’s feat. Malinin now stands as the top favorite for the men’s singles gold after helping his team to the win.
French Skater Bonaly Talks About Ilia Malinin’s Backflip
Malinin executed a backflip on the Olympic stage for the first time after it was legalized in an ISU competition in 2024. He sent the world into frenzy by executing one of the toughest maneuvers in the team event and the individual men’s short program. His act took fans and sports enthusiasts down memory lane to Bonaly’s historic feat at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, when the former French skater landed a backflip but notched it up by landing it on one blade.
That too came after she pulled her groin muscle before her free skate program, which even disrupted her regular activities, such as walking. She considered withdrawing from the rest of the competition, but when reality set in, she realized she had nothing to lose. Bonaly fell on a triple jump and bounced back up to perform a spontaneous backflip that etched her name in Olympic history, and retired the same year.
Twenty-eight years later, when Malinin landed the first legal backflip, Bonaly said someone had to step up and follow suit, especially given the challenging element. She added that she felt happy to see figure skating moving forward. She said:
“Backflip is something that somebody had to put a step on and say, OK, I can do it, especially after a lady who did it years ago. And I’m grateful that skating finally step it up and going forward. And everyone’s happy.”
The three-time World silver medalist also said she feels overwhelmed whenever love pours in, because people still remember her for that.
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After the men’s short program in the team event, Malinin’s score of 98.00 placed him behind Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, who posted 108.67. He reflected on his performance and shared how the audience’s cheers boosted his confidence and propelled him forward. The 21-year-old has been showing quad-jumping prowess across competitions and was the first to land a fully rotated quadruple axel.
Malinin has two World, four National, and three Grand Prix titles in his wall of fame. He was also a ‘Time 100 Next List’ honoree in 2022, the same year he accomplished the quadruple axel feat.
