How structural racism leaves marks for decades: today's figure will be Surya Bonaly, a fabulous skater. For many, Surya was spectacular; for others, she was judged as "too aggressive," without "delicacy and artistic refinement," with jumps too explosive and too high. The tipping point occurred in 1994, in the city of Chiba, Japan, where Bonaly refused to accept the silver medal, as she was a strong favorite for gold that year. In 1998, about to retire, Bonaly did something risky: a backflip, a move banned since 1976 due to the risk of injury. She performed her routine and executed the backflip landing on just one foot, something other skaters had never managed to do with such prowess.
She lost her chance at a medal, but went down in history as the first woman to perform a backflip in figure skating with a landing on just one foot. Her feat has remained intact since 1998.
Bonaly made history at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, by executing a backward somersault (backflip) landing on a single skate blade.