Simone Biles nails Yurchenko's double pike at World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
Biles became the first woman to perform Yurchenko's double pike, the most difficult gymnast move
October 02, 2023
Simone Biles made an impressive return to the world stage on Sunday by securing first place in the women's all-around qualification at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
Biles also made history by becoming the first woman to perform the Yurchenko double pike vault at an international competition as she soared high into the air with a twist, landed with grace, and only needed to take one step backwards.
This remarkable feat has earned her the honour of having the skill named after her, which will now be called the Biles II, marking her fifth named element and is a testament to her incredible talent as a 19-time world champion.
The element consists of a roundoff onto the springboard, a back handspring onto the vaulting table, and a piked double backflip into the air to land, and was only ever performed by males, historically.
She finished her qualifying session in first place with an all-around score of 58.865, putting her in a strong position to advance to all four individual finals and the all-around final later in the week.
The 26-year-old is ahead of her teammate Shilese Jones on the uneven bars and in first place on the floor, vault, and balancing beam following her qualifying session.
Despite the fact that most other teams have not yet finished their qualifying rounds, the US as a team produced an amazing qualification score of 171.395.
Given that their total exceeded the 167.263 that saw them qualify in first place last year, it appears almost certain that the Americans will make it to the team final.
It is Biles’ first competition back on the world stage since the Tokyo 2020 Games when she pulled out of several events suffering from what is known as the “twisties” — a mental block causing a gymnast to lose track of their positions in midair, CNN reported.
Biles has continued her success in the sport, winning an eighth national all-around title and becoming the first woman to represent the US at six artistic world championships, showcasing her exceptional qualities and dedication to the sport.
Meanwhile, the US men’s gymnastics team secured its spot in the team competition at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris by qualifying for the team final in second place behind Japan.
