She is a three-time World silver medalist (1993–1995), a five-time European champion (1991–1995), the 1991 World Junior Champion, and a nine-time French national champion (1989–1997). Bonaly is the only Olympic figure skater to land a backflip on one blade; she performed it at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

Surya Bonaly shocked the figure skating world with her illegal, now-iconic backflip — this is how she remembers that infamous moment. ...more.

2021年11月4日 · 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.

2016年5月14日 · Surya Bonaly is the only female figure skater in history who can complete a very illegal and dangerous backflip — yet the black figure skater never won gold. Did race play a part in...

2018年2月22日 · One showstopper you won’t see at the Olympics, however, is a backflip. The move was banned in 1976, and doing one in competition would certainly tank a skater’s score, and perhaps get them...

2015年8月18日 · Mabel Fairbanks —who, in 1997 became the first African American woman inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame at the age of 82—was never allowed to skate competitively.

Bonaly is the only Olympic figure skater to land a backflip on only one blade; she performed it at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. It was the last time a black woman was a serious contender for an Olympic medal in figure skating.

France's Surya Bonaly broke down barriers as a Black skater and wowed crowds in the 1990s, including at the 1998 Winter Olympics (above) when she executed a backflip during one of her...

2018年3月5日 · Despite the continued criticism and prejudice against her, Bonaly continued skating at an amateur level and participated in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. It was there that she famously...

2024年3月2日 · Olympic figure skater Surya Bonaly exclusively landed a backflip on one skate, a banned move now called "The Bonaly." Here's what happened to her.