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Simone Biles is shattering glass ceilings after being the first woman to successfully stick a Yurchenko Double Pike in a gymnastics competition at the 2021 GK U.S. Classic competition in Indiana.
Biles received a 6.6 start value for difficulty, marking the highest-rated vault for females right now as she preps for the U.S. Gymnastics Championships June 3-6 and the U.S. Olympic Trials from June 21 to 27 before the Summer Tokyo Olympics.
".@Simone_Biles continues to inspire young gymnasts and athletes that they can achieve anything they set their mind to and continues to break barriers. Congrats on this most recent success. Many more to come," Mayor Sylvester Turner (D-Houston) said in a Twitter post on May 23.
Historically, the Yurchenko Double Pike has only been completed by men, but 24-year old female gymnast put an end to the gender limitations. Sprinting down the runway, Biles performed a roundoff onto the springboard followed by a back handspring onto the vault, completing a double backflip with her legs completely straight and hands placed on her hamstrings. The speed was so forceful that when she landed she hopped back a step, which is what is considered a "step-close" in the sport.
A step-close typically counts as a small deduction, depending on how many steps are taken. Regardless of the landing, Biles still received a score of 16.100, finishing with a higher vault score than any of her gold-winning vaults in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
The four-foot-eight-inch omnipotent said it hasn't always been easy being The Greatest of All Time, as she has received criticism of her body since the dawn of competing as a gymnast.
“They focused on my hair," Biles said. "They focused on how big my legs were. But God made me this way, and I feel like if I didn’t have these legs or these calves, I wouldn’t be able to tumble as high as I can and have all of these moves named after me.”
Biles was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1997 and resides in Spring, which is 22 miles north of Houston. Adopted with her sister at a young age, Biles started gymnastics class when she was six. She holds Belizean citizenship through her mother and calls Belize her second home.
The 2021 GK U.S. Classic was Biles' first competition since the 2019 World Championships.
“Growing up, I didn’t see very many black gymnasts,” Biles said. “So whenever I did, I felt really inspired to go out there and want to be as good as them. I remember watching Gabby Douglas win the 2012 Olympics, and I was like, 'If she can do it, I can do it.'"