Funny How It Became ‘Revolutionary’ When A White Skater Did A Backflip A Black Woman Mastered Decades Ago

Source: Eric Fougere – Corbis / Getty

As the sports world celebrates Ilia Malinin for landing a backflip at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina and pushing the limits of figure skating with boundary-breaking athleticism, it’s worth noting something the headlines keep leaving out: Surya Bonaly, a Black woman, did it first. She did it decades ago. And she did it more dangerously, more defiantly, and under rules, scrutiny, and politics far harsher than anything today’s skaters face.

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