Ilia Malinin makes Olympic history with backflip

Ilia Malinin does the first legal backflip in the Olympics in 50 years helping USA win gold in Figure Skating at Milan Winter Olympics 2026.

In front of a packed crowd that included tennis champion Novak Djokovic, the 21-year-old drew onlookers to their feet after landing his backflip on one leg.

Malinin’s one-foot backflip makes him the first skater to land the move since France’s Surya Bonaly at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. Bonaly famously completed the backflip on a single blade, even though the skill was banned at the time, and was penalised for it.

The American posted a score of 200.03 to move ahead of Japan’s Shun Soto, and that narrow advantage proved crucial for Team USA, helping them retain the team event gold they won at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

The backflip was previously outlawed at the Winter Olympics after American skater Terry Kubicka became the first to perform it at the 1976 Innsbruck Games. The International Skating Union later overturned that decision, officially legalising the move in 2024.

Speaking on the high risk move, Malinin said: "It was fun. I mean, come on, the audience just roared, and they were just out of control. Really that just helped me feel the gratitude of the Olympic stage."

"I try to enjoy every single moment and be grateful for everything, because there's a lot of unexpected things that can happen in life. I'm taking everything to heart."