Surya Bonaly doing a backflip at the 1998 Olympics. Time code 3:29 for the flip. Listen to our newest episode to learn more. | Radiolab

In 1998, Surya Bonaly became the ONLY figure skater in Olympic history to land a backflip on one blade—a move banned since 1976. Already injured and out of medal contention, she had nothing to lose and everything to prove. This wasn’t rebellion for rebellion’s sake. For years, Bonaly dominated with athleticism that terrified judges. She could complete a quad (before women’s quads were “a thing”), jumped higher than most men, and brought gymnastics-level power to the ice. But judges consistently

23 years ago, figure skater Surya Bonaly pulled off a spectacular backflip, landing on one skate, in the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. But it didn’t count. In fact, Bonaly was penalized because a backflip is an illegal move in competition. Bonaly had been the world silver medalist from 1993-95 but, at the Olympics, she was in 6th place with an achilles injury. Instead of doing her planned triple lutz, Bonaly wowed the crowd with a backflip that became an iconic moment in women’s figure skating hi

Surya Bonaly shocked the figure skating world with her now-iconic backflip — this is how she remembers that infamous moment. | Netflix

At #Albertville1992, Surya Bonaly made history with a gravity-defying backflip on ice. 😲⛸️ #Olympics #MilanoCortina2026 #WinterOlympics #FigureSkating | Olympics