Before her own Olympic career began, Canadian figure skater Vanessa James had seen Black Girl Magic on the ice. It was on display at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, when French skater Surya Bonaly leapt into the air, kicked into a backflip and landed on one leg.
The thrilling move has neither been widely attempted since nor accepted by judges for international competitions, such as the Olympic Games, and thus “the Bonaly flip” has never became a big thing. Yet despite the move being controversial at the time, Bonaly’s tenacity in attempting it has inspired many who have followed her.
