American skater Terry Kubicka did the first backflip in competition at the 1976 Games in Innsbruck, Austria. But the next year, the move was made illegal because of fears that it was too dangerous. That didn’t stop French skater Surya Bonaly, who executed a backflip at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, landing on one skate. Because the move was illegal, she received a deduction for her efforts. In 2024 the move was declared legal, and Ilia Malinin completed it in the 2026 Milano Cortina Games.
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