unilad homepage
unilad homepage
    • News
      • UK News
      • US News
      • World News
      • Crime
      • Health
      • Money
      • Sport
      • Travel
    • Music
    • Technology
    • Film and TV
      • News
      • DC Comics
      • Disney
      • Marvel
      • Netflix
    • Celebrity
    • Politics
    • Advertise
    • Terms
    • Privacy & Cookies
    • LADbible Group
    • LADbible
    • SPORTbible
    • GAMINGbible
    • Tyla
    • UNILAD Tech
    • FOODbible
    • License Our Content
    • About Us & Contact
    • Jobs
    • Latest
    • Archive
    • Topics A-Z
    • Authors
    Facebook
    Instagram
    X
    Threads
    TikTok
    YouTube
    Submit Your Content
    Ice skating move is so dangerous and hard to pull off it was made illegal

    Home> News

    Published 20:16 31 May 2023 GMT+1

    Ice skating move is so dangerous and hard to pull off it was made illegal

    You've got blades stuck to your feet and hard ice below, if you mess it up it's a serious injury

    Joe Harker

    Joe Harker

    google discoverFollow us on Google Discover
    Featured Image Credit: YouTube/@Scottietoohottie 52

    Topics: Sport, Olympics

    Joe Harker
    Joe Harker

    Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

    X

    @MrJoeHarker

    Advert

    Advert

    Advert

    There's a move in figure skating which competitors have not been allowed to attempt on the ice since 1976 because it's seen as so dangerous.

    That hasn't stopped people from attempting them on the odd occasion but it does tend to lead them being slapped with a penalty for trying something they know they shouldn't do.

    This banned move is of course the backflip, as you might have seen pulled off to a stunning degree of skill in the video above.

    Advert

    While it's clearly not impossible it is still incredibly dangerous and thus illegal to attempt for those who enjoy strapping blades to the bottom of their shoes and gliding about on a large mass of ice.

    There are plenty of good reasons why it's not really allowed to be done, even if it does look undeniably cool when pulled off.

    Doing a backflip on a surface of hard ice is pretty obviously a hazardous activity, especially since ice skaters don't load up on protective gear to take the worst of the potential impacts.

    This is not allowed on ice, no matter how cool it looks. (See what I did there?)
    Reddit

    On top of the risk, the move itself is just considered to be not that aesthetically pleasing in the sport so it wouldn't win much favour with the judges even it wasn't illegal.

    Basically any jump where your legs go over your head is a huge no-no lest there be some almighty and painful crack of the skull, neck or some other important part of the body occurring when you land back down on the ground.

    There are also concerns that a potentially heavy landing with the person's entire weight slamming down onto one blade could mess up the ice surface for the next competitor.

    While it's illegal and can get a skater into trouble there have been people who pull it off anyway to show they are good enough to do it.

    One of the most famous examples is from the video above where French skater Surya Bonaly successfully performed a backflip and landed on one foot, all on an ice skate while in motion.

    Surya Bonaly is the only Olympic figure skater who has managed to pull off a one-blade landing backflip.
    YouTube/Olympics Figure Skating

    Whichever way you slice it that's a seriously impressive athletic achievement, being able to backflip right over and land near-perfectly on one thin blade of metal skittering across an icy surface.

    In the moment you can view above Bonaly pulls off the backflip and lands on one blade, and she is the only Olympic figure skater who has managed to pull off this feat, though she had her score docked when she did it at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.

    Other athletes have done backflips on ice but they land them with both feet on the ice and skating jumps are meant to be landed with one foot.

    Choose your content:

    2 mins ago
    7 mins ago
    an hour ago
    • Richard Lautens/Toronto Star via Getty Images
      2 mins ago

      Family of woman who's physically fit but wants assisted suicide shares what they think about her decision

      Claire Brosseau has claimed Canada's assisted suicide laws are discriminatory

      News
    • AFP via Getty Image
      7 mins ago

      Canary Island leader refuses to allow virus-hit cruise ship to dock there

      The president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, has spoken out on the plans for the cruise ship to travel there

      News

      breaking

    • Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
      an hour ago

      Trump accused of going 'too far' after making comments on Iran war in front of school kids in Oval Office

      The president didn't hold back when giving an honest review of the war in Iran

      News
    • Getty stock image
      an hour ago

      Doctor issues warning to people who sleep on their front as it could lead to painful condition

      Sleeping on your front is not just bad for your health, it can also give you wrinkles

      News
    • US Olympic ice skater performs once-illegal move that was banned for nearly 50 years
    • How much money iconic iBeer app made its creator as he explains why it was so popular
    • Boxer Jarrell Miller reveals eye-watering amount he spent on hairpiece before it was punched off during fight
    • How Fake Snow At The Winter Olympics Is Made And What Risks It Presents