For such an elegant move, Ilia Malinin’s figure skating backflip has a surprisingly messy past.
With the Winter Olympics in full swing, a whole new cast of athletes is claiming the spotlight. And one of the biggest breakout stars thus far? Figure skater Ilia Malinin, a 21-year-old Virginia native who captured a gold medal over the weekend.
Malinin, himself the son of two former Olympic skaters, is known as the “Quad God” for his awe-inspiring ability to complete four full revolutions in the air during jumps. But it was another signature move that stole the show on Sunday evening: Before a packed crowd that included tennis champion Novak Djokovic, he became the first competitor in nearly 50 years to perform a legal backflip, drawing onlookers to their feet. “I was like, ‘This is your moment. It's either do or die, you know, you have to go into this 100%,’” he told reporters afterward, according to Olympics.com. But for such an elegant move, the figure skating backflip has a surprisingly messy past. Here’s everything you need to know about the complicated history behind Malinin’s game-changing performance. How the figure skating backflip became so controversial Backflipping has long been a thorny topic in the figure skating world. In 1976, Terry Kubicka became the first skater to execute the maneuver at the Olympics . 'It was pretty exciting,' he recalled in an interview with US Figure Skating. 'I think people were very surprised, and it kind of set the house on fire.” But soon after that, the International Skating Union , skating's worldwide governing body, made the decision to ban backflips from competition due in large part to the high risk of head and neck injuries. In fact, Kubicka reported his own coach, Evy Scotvold, suffered a head injury practicing the move as a member of the Ice Follies, according to Ice Skating International—a fact Kubicka only learned after his Olympics turn. For the next 47 years the ban stood, though a few skaters still performed backflips in competition as a show of defiance. In 1998, French skater Surya Bonaly did one at the Nagano Olympics, though her score was reduced as a result. More recently, another French skater, Adam Siao Him Fa, did one at both the 2024 European Championships and the 2024 World Championships . “I knew that I was losing a couple of points, but I wanted to push our sport, to move it forward and to bring back this element,” Siao Him Fa explained at his European World Championships appearance, according to Ice Skating International. Outside of competition, some skaters also performed backflips at non-scored events like exhibition galas, including Olympians Scott Hamilton, Keegan Messing, and Nathan Chen. In 2022, both Messing and Chen did backflips at a gala at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. How a recent rule change is shaking things up Everything changed at the 59th Ordinary ISU Congress in 2024. Held in Las Vegas, the five-day meeting resulted in the removal of “somersault-type jumps” from Rule 610—the rule detailing what moves can’t be performed in competition. “Somersault type jumps are very spectacular and nowadays it is not logical anymore to include them as illegal movements,” the organization reasoned. With that revision, the backflip was officially reinstated as an acceptable move starting in the 2024-2025 season. Right away, skaters began incorporating it into their routines if they felt capable and comfortable enough. Multiple Americans have since done one or more backflips in competition, including Will Annis, Patrick Blackwell, and, of course, Malinin. Beyond the Olympics, he has pulled off backflips at a number of events, including the Summer Sizzler in Boston; the Lombardia Trophy in Bergamo, Italy; and Skate Canada in Montreal. In the years to come, other skaters are sure to attempt them as well, opening the possibility of raising the bar by introducing new variations. “I don't know if we'll see multiple rotations because going from a single to a double backflip takes twice the effort and it's really challenging even off the ice or on the trampoline, so I don't think that would be realistic,” Malinin told US Figure Skating in 2024. “I think adding a twist is a lot more realistic. I've already done that.” Where the move goes from here remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure: We’ll almost certainly be seeing a lot more of it on the ice. Related: This Cosmetic Filler Is Fueling a Winter Olympics ‘Penis-Gate’ The Winter Olympics Has Its Own Heated Rivalry Couple Lindsey Vonn Doesn’t Need Your Permission Get more of SELF’s great service journalism delivered right to your inbox.
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