SIMONE BILES BECOMES THE FIRST WOMAN TO LAND A YURCHENKO DOUBLE PIKE IN COMPETITION
Simone Biles just made history as the first woman to land a Yurchenko double pike in competition. On Saturday, Biles showed up and showed out at the GK U.S. Classic. The classic event is the kickoff event for the 2021 summer Olympic season. It’s first in the home stretch for the top female gymnasts leading up to the trials. The meet also serves as the final opportunity for female gymnasts to qualify for the 2021 U.S. Gymnastics Championships, held June 3-6 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Biles wowed fans when she landed the Yurchenko double pike vault move in front of a crowd of onlookers, becoming the first woman to do it.
.@Simone_Biles' historic vault deserves a slow-mo and some cool music. 💯 @OnHerTurf pic.twitter.com/Kfpl395VTn
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) May 24, 2021
The Yurchenko move is a double pike, consisting of a roundoff onto the springboard, followed by a back handspring onto the vaulting table, and ending with a piked double backflip into the air before landing. The move has historically only ever been successfully completed by men. Biles just changed all of that.
“I was just thinking, ‘Do it like training. Don’t try to overdo anything,’…because I have a tendency as soon as I raise my hand to kind of overpower things, and I did a little bit, but at least I was on my feet. It’s a new vault and I’m proud of how today went,” Biles told reporters.
I’m sorry but I can’t believe I competed a double pike on vault
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) May 25, 2021
Despite her career-changing accomplishment, judges didn’t seem too impressed. They gave the Yurchenko a provisional scoring value of 6.6, close to what her other vaults received. Her penalization was clearly unfair treatment knowing that Biles will dominate any competition she enters. Her rivals wouldn’t dare to do what she did, and for that, she is now considered a threat. Let’s face it; nobody put ankle weights on Michael Phelps.
“They’re both too low and they even know it,” Biles said of the rewards for her beam dismount and the double-pike vault. “But they don’t want the field to be too far apart. And that’s just something that’s on them. That’s not on me.”
The 24-year-old isn’t letting anyone dim her light. She is the most decorated American gymnast and the world’s third-most decorated gymnast. She has a combined total of 30 Olympic and World Championship medals.
“I love the sport of gymnastics and want to help create a show that captures the pure joy of performing,” said Biles. “Athleta Presents Gold Over America Tour will match athleticism and entertainment, all while celebrating the gold inside each of us!”
