Simone Biles was the first woman to attempt this ‘scary’ vault move. Now she’s telling it, ‘R.I.P.’
Chuck Schilken | Los Angeles Times (TNS)
Simone Biles may compete again. Or she may not.
Either way, the 11-time Olympic medalist will not be performing her most iconic vault — one of five elements bearing her name in the International Gymnastics Federation code of points — ever again.
It’s called the Biles II, also known as the Yurchenko double pike, a nod to the former Soviet gymnast who originated the cartwheeling approach to the vault. It is the most difficult vault element performed by a woman in competition (the gymnastics federation gave it a difficulty score of 6.4) and also one of the most dangerous.
And the woman it’s named after appears to have held a funeral for it.
“R.I.P yurchenko double pike,” Biles wrote Monday on her Instagram Stories, along with a photo of herself dressed in all white, sitting on a vault and surrounded by white flowers.
The post made official something Biles indicated last month at the Paris Olympics, where she performed her namesake move in the all-around and vault competitions, winning gold medals in each. Afterward, the 27-year-old was asked if it was her last time vaulting in competition.
“Is this my last? Definitely the Yurchenko double pike. I mean, I kind of nailed that one,” said Biles, who didn’t rule out returning for the U.S. at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
The Biles II — which involves a roundoff onto the springboard, a handspring onto the vault and a double backflip in a pike position before landing — has become one of the gymnast’s signature moves, although she has performed it sparingly because of its mental and physical difficulty.
During the Netflix docuseries “Simone Biles Rising,” the six-time all-around world champion was asked what it feels like to attempt the move.
“Just scary,” Biles said. “And it’s every time you do it, you’re scared. Every time I do it, I’m like” — she slowly exhales — “‘OK. One more time.’”
She added: “Probably done 100 Yurchenko double pikes, and the first one and then the last one I’ve done, they all feel the same — scary.”
Biles was the first woman to attempt the move in competition when she successfully landed it at the 2021 U.S. Classic in Indianapolis. Her name became officially attached to the maneuver at the 2023 world championships in Antwerp, Belgium, where she became the first woman to pull it off in international competition.
“I wasn’t thinking along the lines of perfection like I normally am,” Biles told Netflix of that moment. “For this one I was like, ‘Just land on your feet, salute and you’re good.’ Like, it’s named after you. It’s done.”
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