Surya Bonaly was Robbed

On February 8, 2026 I saw a news celebrating the first skater to legally land backflip in the Olympics in 50 years.

Ilia Malinin has become the first skater to legally land a backflip on Olympic ice since 1976.

📸 Wang Zhao pic.twitter.com/8gmAN8B7tS

— Ilia Malinin Daily (@TheIliaSociety) February 7, 2026

Of course, congratulations are in order even if it was done landing on both feet. Phenomenal. But why the emphasis on legality? Simple. A black woman, Surya Bonaly, pulled off a similar stunt years ago, but she was denied the gold because the judges said it was against the rules. Why did say the two instances were similar and not the same? Well, Surya's backflip was completed by her landing one leg. Why did she not get recognized and snubbed? Because she is black. 

Since the Winter Olympics is underway, this is the perfect time to post Surya Bonaly doing her back flip on ice. Judges used to underscore her and I loved that she did the backflip in her last performance before retiring as a big FU to the establishment. pic.twitter.com/o9bg5FVOQB

— 𝓜. ❤︎ (@rissalutions) February 8, 2026

Just to update everyone, Surya Bonaly is looking good and still got it. Bless. ⛸️ pic.twitter.com/nSJB53A1Dk

— Renee (@PettyLupone) February 8, 2026