It’s Women's History Month and so we have to spotlight French Competitive Gymnast, Figure Skating World Champion and Olympian Surya Bonaly. Surya was encouraged to bring her gymnastic skills on to the ice and some reports state she first landed a backflip while skating at 12 years old. Surya has won many gold medals and was the first woman to attemp and almost land a quadruple jump in competition, a skill that is now becoming common place in the sport over 3 decades later.
She is most famously known for being the first and only figure skater to land a backflip on one blade. This move was banned by the ISU (International Skating Union) when Surya was 3 years old but she performed it anyway knowing that she would likely not get points for it. Many cite racism as the reason why she did not receive as many endorsement deals and why she was underscored for a lot of her performances.
Despite this, Surya earned a silver medal at the World Championships in Trampoline Gymnastics, 3 silver medals at the Figure Skating World Championships, 5 Gold Medals at the Figure Skating European Championships and the list goes on. She will continue to be an inspiration for years to come for future figure skaters.