Simone Biles continues to push the envelope for challenging skills and her vault performance in the women's gymnastics all-around final at the Paris Olympics was no different as she successfully drilled a Yurchenko double pike, which has become known as the 'Biles II'.
The judges rewarded Biles for her effort with a difficulty score of 6.400, an execution score of 9.366 and a total score of 15.766.
"She nailed the vault," said NBC's Rich Lerner, who called it the hardest vault skill out there.
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The Yurchenko double pike had never been completed by a woman in competition, and few men have even tried. She began tinkering with it in 2021, but it's in the last year that it has morphed into perhaps the most show-stopping thing done in the sport.
What is a Yurchenko double pike performed by Simone Biles?
The vault asks Biles to do a round-off back handspring onto the table, then two backward flips in pike position with her hands essentially clasped to her knees. She does it with so much power, she can sometimes overcook it.
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For comparison to Simone's 15.766 on vault, Brazil's Rebecca Andrade scored 15.100 and the USA's Suni Lee scored a 13.900.
She successfully landed the Biles II in podium training in Paris. However, she passed on doing one during the team final to protect her tender left calf.
Biles is the only woman to ever complete the vault in competition and it carries her name in the sport’s Code of Points.
What is the 'Biles 2' skill?
The Biles 2 as added to official FIG Code of Points in 2023 and is described as a "Round-off, Flic-Flac on – piked double salto backward off" with a 6.4 difficulty.
At the U.S. Olympic trials last month, her Yurchenko double pike drew a standing ovation.
“No, it's not normal,” longtime coach Laurent Landi said after she drilled it at the 2023 U.S. Championships. “She's not normal.”
The skill bears her name as the first woman to ever perform it, according to NBC News.
How can I watch the women's all-around final?
The event will air live on NBC, Peacock, and nbcolympics.com at the link here.
