Surya Bonaly

Surya Varuna Claudine Bonaly (born 15 December 1973 in Nice, France) is a French retired figure skater and coach. 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; knowing that there was no way she was going to earn a medal and to leave a trademark in her sport, she performed it at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, and retired soon afterward. She had a long and successful career as a professional figure skater, performing in ice shows all over the world and winning many professional competitions. She probably performed her signature backflip 500 times as a professional, to audiences of 15,000 people. She became a coach in Las Vegas, Colorado, Minnesota, and Switzerland.

Bonaly was the second black female skater, after American Debi Thomas, "to reach the international elite". She was called "the most successful black skater in the history of the sport". Known for her gymnastic abilities, especially her backflip and jumps, she was one of the most successful and celebrated black figure skaters in the history of figure skating. She broke the stereotype of the "white ice princess" and was beset by racism throughout her career.