Olympic Figure Skating: Why Ilia Malinin's Backflip Isn't Worth Any Points

Illy Malinin's flashiest move at the Winter Olympics isn't even a quad jump. It's a backflip. The 21-year-old who calls himself the quad god has landed dozens upon dozens of four rotation jumps in competition in nearly every conceivable combination.But it's his backflip, which he does in his short program and freekate, that's winning him the crowd at the Olympics. Figure skating has a long complicated history with back flips. They were banned in 1976 either for being too dangerous or too circus-like.And it ...