Simone Biles Deserves a Gold Medal for This Gymnastics Stunt You Must See to Believe

Watch Simone Biles land her Yurchenko double pike at podium training ahead of the 2021 U.S. Classic.

By Elyse Dupre May 21, 2021 8:31 PMTags
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You'll flip over this video of Simone Biles getting ready for the 2021 U.S. Classic.

On May 21, @NBCOlympics posted a video of the 24-year-old gymnast landing her Yurchenko double pike at podium training. According to NBC, the move is a vault no woman has performed in a competition before. 

"I was like, 'It's OK, I've done this so many times. I've been doing this for months now,'" Biles said in a later media call, per NBC Sports, adding she feels "really good going into tomorrow."

The athlete will appear in the U.S. Classic on May 22, making it her first meet in more than 18 months. Per NBC, the event is the final opportunity for female gymnasts to qualify for the June 2021 U.S. Gymnastics Championships, which in turn is a qualifier for the Olympic Trials later that month. 

With 25 medals, Biles is the most decorated gymnast in world championship history.

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She also has five Olympic medals (four gold, one bronze) and is hoping to add to her count at the Tokyo Games this summer

"I knew I had more to give to the sport for myself and I felt like I had a purpose," she told Today's Hoda Kotb in April about her decision to come back for the Games. "And now, I feel like I do, and it's to be a voice for the younger generation. And I feel like I've done that. So, I feel like God just called me."

However, this isn't the only reason for her return. According to Today, Biles also wants to continue to fight for change within the sport following Larry Nassar's abuse. 

In 2018, the former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University physician was sentenced to 40 to 125 years in prison for three counts of felony criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, as well as 40 to 175 years in prison for seven counts of felony criminal sexual conduct in the first degree. He was also sentenced to 60 years in prison for child pornography and obstruction of justice offenses in 2017.

Biles is one of hundreds of gymnasts to come forward and say she was abused by Nassar. Fellow Olympians McKayla MaroneyAly Raisman and Gabby Douglas, who have all retired from competition, have, as well.

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"I just feel like everything that happened, I had to come back to the sport to be a voice, to have change happen," Biles added during her Today interview. "Because I feel like if there weren't a remaining survivor in the sport, they would have just brushed it to the side. But since I'm still here, and I have quite a social media presence and platform, they have to do something. So, I feel like, coming back, gymnastics just wasn't the only purpose that I was supposed to do."

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family).

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