Simone Biles is predicted to leave Tokyo with a staggering number of medals, largely because no one – not even Olympic gymnasts – can compete with the impressively difficult skills she brings to the table. Case in point: Biles’s famed Yurchenko double pike, seen here in jaw-dropping slow motion.
During podium training in Tokyo, cameras captured Biles practicing her latest signature vault from different angles, showing every impressive detail. The vault begins with a roundoff onto the springboard, then a back handspring onto the vault. From there, Biles does a double pike, or two backflips with straight legs. She’s so well-trained on this skill that she lands steadily on both legs, with only a small step back. With the slow motion replays, we can see every precise push, twist, and turn.
The original Yurchenko vault is named for former Soviet gymnast Natalia Yurchenko, but the double pike part is Biles’s signature. She’s the only woman who has landed the move in competition (although some have tried it in training), joining the ranks of just a few men who have pulled it off. Incredibly, when Biles first debuted this incredibly risky vault at the 2021 GK US Classic, she over-rotated it a bit – meaning, she actually had a little too much power on the landing. We can’t wait to see her attempt this vault as she continues her Olympic campaign.
