Simone Biles made history once again in the gymnastics world. She became the first female gymnast to land the Yurchenko double pike vault during an international competition, which means the challenging vault will be named for her.
Biles was competing in the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, is considered the most difficult vault in women’s gymnastics right now, according to The Athletic.
This was her first time competing with Team USA at an international meet since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which took place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After becoming the first gymnast to complete a challenging maneuver, the skill is then named for that gymnast. Biles will get the trick named for her, along with five other skills named after her, according to Fox News.
She completed the move during the qualifying rounds, and Team USA is favored to win the team title on Wednesday. The all-around finals begin Friday then event finals take place Saturday and Sunday, per Fox News.
What is Simone Biles background in gymnastics?
Biles is a 19-time world champion and a four-time Olympic champion. During the Tokyo Olympics, Biles experienced “the twisties,” which is a term for when gymnasts begin to lose air awareness while performing, per The Athletic.
“I think what success means to me is a little bit different than before because before everyone defined success for me, even if I had my own narrative that I wanted,” Biles told Olympics.com prior to the world championships. “So, now, it’s just showing up, being in a good head place, having fun out there, and whatever happens, happens.”
She is also a five-time world all-around champion and will likely win the vault final in the World Championships, according to The Washington Post.