Extra not too long ago, one other French skater, Adam Siao Him Fa, did a backflip at each the 2024 European World Championships and the 2024 World Championships. (Siao Him Fa was equally penalized for the transfer.)
“I knew that I used to be dropping a few factors, however I wished to push our sport, to maneuver it ahead and to convey again this ingredient,” Siao Him Fa defined at his European World Championships look, in line with Ice Skating Worldwide.
Outdoors of competitors, some skaters additionally carried out backflips at non-scored occasions like exhibition galas, together with Olympians Scott Hamilton, Keegan Messing, and Nathan Chen. In 2022, each Messing and Chen did backflips at a gala on the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
How a current rule change is shaking issues up
Every part modified on the 59th Strange ISU Congress in 2024. Held in Las Vegas, the five-day assembly resulted within the elimination of “somersault-type jumps” from Rule 610—the statute detailing what strikes can’t be carried out in competitors.
“Somersault sort jumps are very spectacular and these days it isn’t logical anymore to incorporate them as unlawful actions,” the group reasoned.
With that revision, the backflip was formally reinstated as an appropriate transfer beginning within the 2024-2025 season. Straight away, skaters started incorporating it into their routines in the event that they felt succesful and comfy sufficient. A number of Individuals have since completed a number of backflips in competitors, together with Will Annis, Patrick Blackwell, and, in fact, Malinin. Past the Olympics, he has pulled off backflips at numerous occasions, together with the Summer time Sizzler in Boston; the Lombardia Trophy in Bergamo, Italy; and Skate Canada in Montreal. Within the years to come back, different skaters are positive to try them as properly, opening the potential for elevating the bar by introducing new variations.
“I don’t know if we’ll see a number of rotations as a result of going from a single to a double backflip takes twice the trouble and it’s actually difficult even off the ice or on the trampoline, so I don’t assume that might be reasonable,” Malinin instructed US Determine Skating in 2024. “I feel including a twist is much more reasonable. I’ve already completed that.”
The place the transfer goes from right here stays to be seen, however one factor’s for positive: We’ll nearly definitely be seeing much more of it on the ice.
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