On Sunday, 19-time world champion Simone Biles made history during an international gymnastics competition. Biles, 26, has been absent from competing for the last two years. However, she quickly reminded the world of her greatness.
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During the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastic Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, Biles became the first woman to land the Yurchenko double pike—an extremely difficult complex vault—internationally.
The vault is regarded as the hardest jump to execute in the women’s scoring code. Officially, it was given a difficulty score of 6.4 points right before Sunday’s championship. Previously, the toughest vault performed at last year’s world championships had a score of 5.6
Biles posted an overall total score of 58.865, which put her in first place at the end of her qualifying session. In addition, the pike will now be named after Biles and called the Biles II.
Two years ago, Biles was at the center of around mental health dialogue after taking a break a much needed break to focus on herself. After pulling out of several events at the Tokyo Olympics, she was also candid about dealing with the “twisties” (a spatial disorientation condition is many gymnasts battle).
In August, Biles received a record eighth all-around title at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships which served as a precursor for her dominating international competitions as well.
This week, Biles is scheduled to compete in all four individual finals and the all-around final. Earlier this year, Biles married NFL player Jonathan Owens in Cabo, Mexico after meeting on the dating app Raya.
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