History made! Surya Bonaly lands a Backflip during her free skate!

Surya Bonaly landed a backflip on one blade during her free skate at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano. This has never been repeated in Olympic competition since. Enjoy watching her full performance!

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[kaibe]

The fact that she pulled that off after a couple of mistakes is insane. What confidence!!!

[julie.]

She may not have taken home gold but she made the record books. All these years later, we still come back to watch her skate.

[disneyfun]

The fact that she ended facing with her back toward the judges and instead reaching to the audience is beautiful

[kshepard]

She knew the fall put her out of the top spot, so she skated for herself and the fans. Bravo!

[grownknow]

The fall was actually very beautiful and graceful. And the backflip said, "if you fail while doing your best, you still win."

[azzyntll]

I love how she faced her audience instead of the judges, she definitely knew her fans were going to be the ones to appreciate her talent and work

[artsylovelylady]

Proof that you don't always have to be declared a winner by someone else to BE a winner.

[APRzz]

I remember watching this performance live and my mouth just dropped when she did her backflip on one foot. Just incredible. She made an impact on me forever…What an athlete!!

[SophiaSvitenko]

I don't think people truly realize how mentally and physically strong you have to be in order to pull THAT kind of a routine off. If Surya even blinked during that backflip it could've ended with a career ending injury and instead she did something immaculate in skating history! I have nothing but the utmost respect for Miss Surya. What an amazing young woman!

[VeganDoris]

She is so underrated! I don’t think the skating world treated her fairly.

3:58 They told her that a back flip is not a jump because she was landing them on both feet, so she landed this one on one foot!

Such a badass and an awesome skater!

[xenotbbbeats]

My heart broke when she fell, and then later stumbled, but then she stunned everyone with that powerful and brave back flip.

[SickTwistedQueen]

Omg I would've felt so scattered after that fall... but she kept up her energy and confidence. This is a true athlete, keeping her head up and persisting. Absolutely beautiful.

[ddjr]

A move that is still ‘against’ the rules as it is deemed too dangerous - at first it was said because landings had to be on one foot) Robin Cousins landed them on two feet) Soraya was amazing landed the back flip on one foot and they changed the rules again. She was penalised for the jump. We, fans, love and adore her for it.

[MarieAntoinetteandherlittlesis]

She has my utmost respect for STILL going for the backflip even after she made a couple mistakes. That says so much about her that she fell, and still got back up and back to it. I can’t imagine the focus it takes to be Ice skating backwards, and then pull off a backflip and land on one foot. Amazing!!

[viewerne]

The fact that she waited so late into her program before attempting the flip just speaks to her power.

[tombarclay]

Started off with one major mistake, followed by a couple of minor timing mishaps, probably due to nerves; but as her program progressed, she achieved near perfection. Excellent performance. The thing I hate about this sport is that the judges decisions are based on their own personal preferences rather than the skater's performance, which is why I never watch these contests.

[webeducation]

That backflip came after many triples. Was expecting to see it earlier when she had more energy, but to pull it off towards the end when tired is very very impressive.

[Adara]

Absolutely amazing! Prior to these Olympics she had ruptured her Achilles tendon and was still in a lot of pain so wasn't able to finish her planned routine yet she managed to perform this backflip landing on one blade which just shows how superb an athlete she is.

[Bea-gkvb]

The fact that she fell and stumbled but still had that Resilience to push through and make flupping history tells you something about her!!

[siobahnhurley]

Many people booed the Judges for penalizing her. I remember watching this live, and it was amazing.
My parents explained why the backflip got panned. It’s dangerous. She threw it in because she knew the fall would cost her, she said “what the heck”