Her doing a backflip was her version of a middle finger to the judges for under scoring her in the short program.

This woman was a BAD ASS. They should make a film about her. Quite a woman.

DO YOU REALISE HOW BADASS THAT WAS?! SHE HAD JUST RECOVERED FROM ACHILLES DAMAGE

The backflip she performed is illegal not only because of the extreme danger, but also because those who used it in choreography landed on both feet, while you're supposed to land jumps on one. She had recently recieved a first place tie with another skater, Yuka Sato, and the judges gave the gold to the other, cheating her out of a win. She refused to take her place in second and, with no practice, performed a backflip and landed on ONE foot as a final "fuck you" to the judges, obviously due to their race-centered treatment of Surya. She made an illegal, life threatening and nearly impossible move not only possible but technically legal in one of the hardest sports in the world.

Who cares if she wasn't an ice skating princess, she was an ice skating warrior who SLAYED.❤️❤️🔥

As she turns her back to the judges panel and salutes the audience first. #BADASS

She's too good for this sport.

I remember this but I didn't realize it was such a big thing. Like NO ONE has ever done a 1 bladed backflip since, male or female.

-Backflips are illegal, but only landing on 2 skates since landing on one was just assumed to be so impossible that they won't even cover it- -Backflips and lands on 1 skate, not illegal, they couldn't discount it- What a legend.

I LOVE Surya Bonaly. The landing on one skate was her last appearance as a competitive ice skater. She hurt her leg the day before and they wanted to pull her out but she said no, then gets on the ice and performs like a bad ass! They said that her trick move is illegal because nobody can do it and it's dangerous! Hello! Surya did it!! I think there should be an "athletic" skating event so unconventional skaters can compete. Those snobby ice skating judges never saw her for what she was. And that was a beautiful performer.

I love this girl.....Zero fucks given about the judges. She's like fuck your rules....I'm gonna do this damn back flip for the fans. I love how they're like illegal back flip like it's common or something when no other skater has done it, or even attempted to do it. Girl should be in the hall of fame.....Guinness book or something.

the anticipation for that backflip nearly killed me :O amazing!

I can't even walk without falling

To pretend that race played no part in the tepid response to her presence is idiotic. Every aspect of life is colored by race, and sport is no exception. Surya is a shining example of #BlackGirlMagic.

3:28 is one of the most athletic things I've ever seen.

She is.... Goodness me she is phenomenal! She's beauty, she's grace, she's a freaking goddess of ice. She should've gotten that gold medal.

Losers on Netflix has an episode about Bonaly's performance here. Apparently some other elements often left out of the story are that she ruptured her achilles tendon prior to this season's olympics and was in a lot of pain before she even went on the ice, which is part of what led to her fall early in the program. It also makes the backflip that much more impressive and ridiculous.

I love how she even finishes facing towards the crowd and away from the judge. What a boss.

wow i cant believe iv never even heard of her before. tumblr brought me here. So fantastic! :)

she is a fucking boss

She's freaking amazing! and look at her legs :o I'm sooo jealous lol

Stunning. All the more impressive when you consider that she was in agonizing pain from a pulled muscle in her left leg, and a previous injury to her achilles tendon.

The commentators *immediately* decided that her intentions with the backflip was to get attention.

Gotta love her IDGAF attitude. She did what she was good at! Total respect for her.

My god that was amazing. A freaking back flip on Ice with one skate, absolutely incredible.

Thumbs up if u r here because of radiolab

I remember watching this live and GASPING when she landed it and you’d have thought I hit the lottery when she finished..... THIS WAS DEFINING MOMENT OF GREATNESS!!

3:28 if you're here from Radiolab.

That.was.AMAZING!!!! Lands on ONE skate!!

Shot out to RadioLab for bringing me here.

Thanks RadioLab for drawing attention to this amazing women and her story. If the backflip was indeed a message, looks like it was received. I admire her spirit.

qalaquendi2 Surya Bonaly "backflip one-foot landing" was a move meant to assert her ability as an athlete in the figure-skating world. It was an incredible move that no other athlete (male/female...living/dead) has been able to emulate and she should be recognized for pulling off one hell of an amazing feat. We all knew she wasn't going to take a medal home after missing a few beats in her routine but we all rooted for her when she defiantly did that backflip and landed on one foot. So whatever point you're trying to make isn't flying the mustard-test with me. Secondly, common sense dictates that any "host" city for the Olympic figure-skating event would want contestants that attract an international audience. The contestants ability to perform a flawless, technically difficult and artistic routine and the story behind their Olympic journey are gimmicks host cities, and programs use to attract an audience...and contestants alike. A contestant performing a backflip is the least of the "host" cities worries. Thirdly, figure skating athletes do not wear protective gear. And lastly, the "backflip" was banned because of another (unspecified move). Although the move can be physically risky for the "contestant", it was never proven to cause any safety risks in the rink or to other onlookers in the audience. Bottom line, if you're going to make an effort to belittle an outstanding athletic feat, the least you could do is spend a little energy studying the subject before sharing your opinions.

Badass move, badass statement! And according to the commentator coming back after an achilles' injury, which mostly is a career ender. Mad respect!

Radiolab brought me here. That was astonishing!!

OMG, the back flip landing on one leg.

Talk about the motherfucking video and the insane backflip she did. Not where you came to this video from.

She’s probably the most famous figure skater. We remember her for years, we don’t remember the others that won after year two.

defiance..... When you know your too good to be judged by scumbags

Amazing skater, just amazing. If you can do what NO ONE else can, is that not the definition of being the best?? She broke the damn mold.

Seen her full story on Netflix series called “Losers” Great athlete and a great life story.

judges : *insert subtle racist excuse here to deny her 1st place* ^Surya's skating career in a nutshell

Beautiful amazing and full of elegance. You can tell she knows who she is and what she can do. Absolutely stunning.

You can feel how motivated she was. I'm speechless, how amazing

I cried watching this. She's a queen

Your fav could NEVER. 💃🏿

watching in 2016 still pretty amazed by this

I remember watching this live. It was just epic.

Just adding to those who may have said the same, but that main commentator seemed to be giving very backhanded compliments. Particularly after her backflip. Reading more of the details about this, the other incidents, and comparing her career record, I can understand why she retired in 98'.

Me too. Thaks Radiolab. Surya deserved better thn she got.

Even if we found out about Surya from Radiolab, we aren't here because of Radiolab, we are here because of Surya. She is Amazing. She is Gold. She has broke the glass ceiling. What an inspiration. In some many ways.

She's so amazing, I wish the video quality was better to fully do her justice.

Greed/cheaters tried to break her, she made her own history!! Which we know is priceless!!!! God bless you WOMEN ❤❤❤❤

GO SURYA! And thank you, Radiolab, for bringing me here, too!

Wouldn't it have just been awesome if when she raised her hand at the end she did it toward the judges with a middle finger? That would have been poetry :p

Amazing young girl! Aupa Surya! J’étais devant ma tv et dégoûtée avec toi! Mais tu vois c de toi qu’on se souvient! Aupa Surya the best ever🙏❤️🙏🤸🏾‍♀️🤸🏾‍♀️🦋💫🌈☮️

apparently she was injured for this performance as well

I know everyone has their personal favorites and opinions-I LOVE Suya Bonaly!! Amazing skater and kicks ass...artistically and facial expressions=amazing and way to kick ASS on that one blade back-flip landing!! Remember seeing this in high school and rooting for her during the Olympics ;)

SHE DID A FLIP

I shiver all over..this skater is amazing

Love her..I remember watching ice skating as a kid and thinking she was so cool. Bonus points for that middle finger to the judges.

I'm glad she got to do this and prove to everyone that she is an amazing skater.

amazing radiolab episode - even greater back flip from Surya.

This woman is a legend. More power, more skill than any of these judges will ever acknowledge. Blackflip in the layout position landed on ONE skate? AMEN, girl. Finishing with her back to the Judges? Perfection. J'adore Surya.

She was punk rock of skating. I adored watching her!

Woah and she did it all with those huge earings!

Guilty! Here because of Radiolab. I thoroughly enjoy listening to them. I feel it helps stimulate my mind. However, sometimes I have trouble understanding exactly what it is they're explaining. So now I'm here. Now back to the Lab...

Watched dis after watching losers documentary frm Netflix... Surya.. u d best 10/10 be strong.. 👍🏿 May Allah give u Iman n success in dis life n nxt.. a very patient lady 👍🏿

Ice skating is terrifying. One wrong move and that’s a broken neck. This is amazing

I remember when this olympics was actually happening. The announcer did comment on her backflip. Big time. It was just after this video is cut. During the playback, they speculated with awe that she was the only person in the world who could do the backflip as she did. And in the clip, he seemed to admire her spirit and tenacity where her form was perhaps having an off day. While the flaws in her performance could not be ignored (it is the Olympics, afterall), the commenators summed it up with admiration after this video ended.

A true artiste extraordinaire... LOL

She was on her element, ecstatic, magnificent, wonderful ♥️ watched her over and over...

I will never forget this. Saw it as a kid and it's still my favourite.

I'm still spellbound by this feat. Friggin' awesome!!!

Jesus Christ that was amazing.

A beautiful soul with a beautiful heart. Deserved gold and more she should go down in Hall of Fame. If individual ice skating had a Hall of Fame she should go down in first place. Unfortunately she was judged not by her perfect ability to perform and exceed above the average just because of the color of her skin. She's a beautiful warrior for women no matter what color. ❤️

Amazing woman. LOVE it that she dissed the judges with that backflip. After being robbed so many times she was like, “forget you, you, and you!” Netflix documentary caused me to shed a tear.

she is a hero in my books. Thanks to radiolab for the story. Great stuff.

Radiolab brought me here too

i love that she made this (ridiculously dangerous) move technically legal because she landed on one foot

The best skater on the planet, and on of the most beautiful chicks on the planet. Gods, what grace! Not to mention I've never seen such impressive moves done by anyone else. Musta been a leopard in her former life.

LOL That judge was hating soooo hard its comical. "She totally going to get nailed!" He can't wait! Awesome display of athleticism!

She was the fucking boss!!

Man, I remember watching this year ago when I was super young little girl and her performance stuck to me the most because she did that AMAZING backflip. To this day I remember it and I wanted to see if it was on youtube. She's so awesome. 😍

I came here after hearing the radiolab show. I can't stop crying, what an awesome story.

Radio lab strikes again ♡

That was wild from the start to the end!!!!!!!

Holy shit, i never knew figure skating could be this beautiful.

This is so incredible everything about her and this backflip they should make a movie about it it’s just surreal and she’s a total badass i love her

I'm just here from tumblr guys... tf is radio lab?

Everyone is like RADIOLAB ! Im like.. Thanks Cosmopolitan

She's amazing!!!

She glided so well, freely and must say powerfully too...she was a real Athlete...woow!!!

thanks radiolab! thanks surya for showing us to never give up!

To the people saying she only got 10th because of her race - you are wrong. Bonaly got tenth because she clunked out in various technical elements and she has a very hard time scoring presentation points, because there is often very little choreography and what she does do is disjointed, as the commentators mentioned. I think she was a very admirable skater and I admire her for some of the moves she could do but it is unreasonable to suggest that race is the only reason she failed.

Laura.eres imprecionante.los giros son espectaculares.errs una precioss niña.admiro tu capacidad.sigue adelante .lograras tus objetivos.un abrazo

I will never forget that backflip-my mom and I were stunned. It was awesome, and I remember thinking it was crap that it doesn’t get any points

Thanks RadioLab

I can barely do a backflip on a trampoline and this bitch just did one injured, on ice skates, and landed on one foot to top it off -.- there are some amazing athletes in this world

WOW... QUELLE PERFORMANCE!!! COMMENT SE FAIT-IL QUE MÊME AVEC TOUT LE TALENT QUE CETTE JEUNE FEMME A, ELLE SOIT VICTIME DE RACISME ET QU'ELLE N'AIE JAMAIS EU LA MÉDAILLE D'OR??? CES HOMMES BLANCS...QUAND MÊME, FAUT DÉPASSER CES ATTITUDES DE DINOSAURES!!! ET CE SALTO ARRIÈRE...ÉPOUSTOUFLAN!!!

I always loved her as a kid. She was THE most under-rated skater of her time. It's a shame she never got the recognition for being the powerful performer and athlete she was.