Shortly after the Paris stop, Simone Biles, America’s most decorated Olympic gymnast, is already onto the next chapter. The G.O.A.T now gears to get on board the Gold Over America Tour, but not before she bids farewell to old habits. Or, as one can call it, her iconic signature move, one that she is now ready to part with.
Yes, you read that right! Taking to her Instagram, Biles added a post of her sitting on a vault, suited up in white against a backdrop of white flowers. With a slight smile on her face, Biles penned a caption, “Rest in peace yurchenko double pike” followed by a hand-heart emoji. Thus, giving an official go about that she has bid adieu to the move.
Adding the post to her story too, she further wrote, “R.I.P yurchenko double pike,” with 4 headstone emojis. Well, the YDP aka Biles II carries a difficulty score of 6.4, one that attests that the move that is thrilling to watch is one of the most demanding ones to execute. And now that the days of witnessing Simone Biles perform it are in the past, USA Gymnastics echoed the sentiment as they commented, “gone, but literally never forgotten” on her post.
Right before the gymnastics events kicked off at the Paris Olympics, Biles had pulled off the Biles II during the podium practice. Since 2021, when she tried her hands at the move for the first time, to the 2023 World Championships where she bagged a 9.8 while executing it, it looks like she had only gotten better. Thus, witnessing her in the YDP element in Paris, her ecstatic fans exclaimed, ‘PERFECTION!’
But, as she has now drawn the curtain on it forever, let’s skim through the aspects that make the YDP, the world’s hardest vault. As an ode to the gymnast, Simone Biles, who made it look as easy as ever whenever she performed it.
Well, the visual of Simone Biles executing a yurchenko double pike would feature her running start, round-off on the vault, followed by a back handspring on the table. But this is not it. She then pulls of a double pike, which is a double somersault when her body remains in the piked position. Thus, it’s safe to say that this elite move requires a combination of speed, height, and extraordinary skill to be able to successfully complete the move. Once in the air, the gymnast has to land correctly, for a botched landing can end them up neck first on the mat.
Recently at the Paris Olympics, during the women’s all-around finals, Simone Biles executed a stunning yurchenko double pike. Exerting her dominance and slating her highest on the vault score that evening, the YDP landed her a score of 15.766, bringing her a step closer to the gold finish. “I wasn’t planning on it,” Simone Biles later confessed that the YDP was not initially a part of the projected sequence. But, it is that weapon she pulls when she needs it the most.
You can easily call it a differentiator- and that’s what it turned out for her that day. “Thank God we did the double pike today,” Biles sighed in relief as she clinched her second Olympic all-round title after Rio. But, now the only way we could revisit her executing the move is through glancing over throwbacks, as Simone Biles parts with the Biles II. What do you think of this? Share your thoughts below!
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