What is the latest vault turn done by Simone Biles for the first time in history?

Simone Biles, one of the most celebrated gymnasts in the world, made an outstanding comeback to the sport in 2023 after an absence of almost two years. She participated in the U.S. Olympic Trials, where she won a place on the USA team for the World Championship. In doing so, she became the first American to participate in six world championships.

At the World Championships held in Eindhoven, Netherlands, Simone Biles proved her mettle yet again by showcasing her exceptional skills and abilities on the mat. In the qualifiers for the vault competition, she achieved a remarkable feat by performing the “Yurchenko Double Pike,” a challenging skill that no other female gymnast had ever accomplished. This move involves performing a roundoff onto the springboard, a back handspring onto the vault table, and then executing two complete backward flips with her legs kept straight until her feet hit the mat.

Simone’s achievement was so remarkable that the move will now be named after her, following the tradition of naming new skills after the athlete who achieves them. This is already the second vault skill named after Simone Biles, with the first being the “Biles” move she performed during the 2018 World Championships. Her latest achievement will be known as “Biles II,” it has already been recognized as one of the most difficult vaults ever performed in women’s gymnastics.

Related stories

TENNIS

No new balls, please

Who should Canelo fight next?

Biles has had five different skills named after her - two on the vault, two on the floor, and one on the beam. The most challenging jump is the “Yurchenko double pike,” which has never been awarded before and is scored with 6.4 points.

Biles scored 15,266 points on the vault and a total of 58,865 in the all-around competition.