The male figure skater most widely associated with doing backflips in recent competitions is Ilia Malinin of the United States. He has become the face of the backflip’s comeback in men’s figure skating, including landing the first‑ever legal backflip at the Winter Olympics during the 2026 Games in Milan.

Who is Ilia Malinin?

  • Ilia Malinin is an American men’s singles skater, often called the “Quad God” for his technical difficulty, including multiple quadruple jumps.
  • He started adding the backflip to his programs after the International Skating Union (ISU) lifted the long‑standing ban on backflips, making it a permitted (but not scored) element in competition.

Other male skaters who do backflips

  • Adam Siao Him Fa (France): He performed a backflip in the 2024 European Championships and at Worlds, landing on two feet and accepting a small deduction; his backflip became a signature show‑stopper.
  • Patrick Blackwell (USA, junior): A younger male skater who has also begun training and competing with a backflip, showing that the move is spreading among the next generation.

Why backflips are trending now

  • The backflip was banned from ISU competitions for nearly 50 years after Terry Kubicka landed one at the 1976 Olympics, but it was recently re‑allowed as an exhibition‑style element that can earn style points but not base value.
  • In 2026, Malinin’s Olympic backflip reignited debate on safety, entertainment, and the future of “wow” moves in figure skating, making the “male figure skater who did backflips” a hot topic in fan forums and news coverage.

If you tell me which competition or video you saw (e.g., Olympics, Skate America, European Championships), I can narrow it down to the exact skater and moment.