Don’t Forget Who Did It First

On Tuesday night, figure skater Ilya Marinin captivated both the audience and the judges with a breathtaking short program that featured an impressive backflip. At just 21 years old, he’s currently leading and is a strong contender for the individual gold medal in the men’s long program, which wraps up on Friday.

Despite the buzz surrounding Marinin’s backflip, he wasn’t the first Olympic competitor to pull off this move.

The distinction belongs to Surya Bonaly from France. She famously executed a daring backflip during her performance at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, though it was actually banned at the time due to safety concerns.

That moment was quite dramatic. Bonaly, grappling with injuries and out of medal contention, still aimed to give her best performance.

The cheers from the crowd were loud and enthusiastic, but, unfortunately, the judges penalized her with a deduction.

“I’m not crazy, but I was told that I wasn’t tied down, and I’m fine now,” Bonaly shared in an exclusive interview. “It’s challenging to be a pioneer… [but] I’d rather be the first than just one among many.”

She often felt overlooked in the figure skating community and viewed her performance as a statement of defiance. Part of the struggle stemmed from her being black in a sport that typically expected a more delicate approach from female skaters.

At the 1992 Olympics, she attempted a quadruple jump, but the judges controversially deemed her toe loop slightly under-rotated, robbing her of the chance to be recognized as the first woman to land a quadruple jump in competition.

“It was tough trying to be the best, even better than the favored champions. I had to stand out,” she reflected in 2022.

Now 52, Bonaly is coaching at an international school in Minnesota and welcomes the evolution in figure skating. “I’m really happy,” she expressed. “Sport is about making progress. You have to push the boundaries, and I did that years ago.”

“Thirty years ago, you didn’t see many people of color in skating,” she noted. “Back then, there were strict rules about outfits, and music could only be instrumental. Thankfully, those times have changed.”

The backflip incident wasn’t the first time Bonaly faced scandal. She is also known for a heated moment at the 1994 World Figure Skating Championships, where she narrowly lost gold to Japan’s Yuka Sato, initially refusing to take her podium spot and later removing her silver medal in protest.

Reflecting on that experience, she mentioned in a Netflix documentary that she was frustrated by judges who didn’t fully recognize her talent and consistently scored her low.

“I think I was just born at the wrong time on the Olympic stage,” she mused. “But hey, it’s great to see someone like Marinin keep the crowd engaged and showcase his athleticism.”

In recent years, figure skating has evolved, with athletes pushing the limits of what’s possible.

Marinin is noted for landing a quad axel, a jump that requires four and a half rotations along with that backflip, something once thought to be unattainable.

As Bonaly watches Marinin’s performance on Friday, she’ll likely hear some cheers when he pulls off another spectacular backflip, and she won’t mind a bit.