Simone Biles Makes History And Claims Her Fifth Named Element

Biles stepped up to the vault, launched high into the air twisting and landed with just a single backwards step becoming the first woman to land the 'Yurchenko Double Pike Vault' at an international competition.

Simone Biles made history on Sunday at this year’s ‘World Artistic Gymnastics Championships’.

Biles stepped up to the vault, launched high into the air twisting and landed with just a single backwards step becoming the first woman to land the ‘Yurchenko Double Pike Vault’ at an international competition.

The skill has historically only been performed by men, it is a roundoff onto the springboard, followed by a back handspring onto the vaulting table, ending with a piked double backflip into the air to landing. The move ensured the skill will now be named the ‘Biles II’ in honor of the 19-time world champion, making it her fifth named element.

This was Biles’ first competition back on the world stage since the Tokyo 2020 Games when she pulled out of several events suffering from ‘Twisties’ which is a mental block causing a gymnast to lose track of their positions midair.