- Four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles wowed onlookers in the women’s qualifying event at Paris 2024.
- Despite a nagging calf injury, Biles became the first woman at the Olympics to land a Yurchenko double pike on the vault in competition.
- Biles finished with a 59.566 to put her well ahead of Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade in the women’s individual all-around in qualifying for the final event.
Simone Biles made history at the Summer Olympics in front of a crowd that included Tom Cruise and Snoop Dogg. The seven-time Olympic medalist shook off a calf injury to shock Paris 2024 with a Yurchenko double pike — also referred to as the Biles II.
In 2021, Biles became the first woman to land the highest-rated Yurchenko D-score move in a gymnastics competition. Now, she is the first to do it at the Olympic Games.
Named after Soviet gymnast Natalia Yurchenko, the Yurchenko double pike involves a roundoff onto the springboard and then a back handspring onto the vault. The gymnast must then successfully pull off two backflips with straight legs and land on the mat.
Biles finished the women’s artistic individual all-around qualifying round with a top score of 59.566. She easily made it through to the finals with a ground-breaking performance.
The 27-year-old Texas native finished first on the vault, floor, and second on the balance beam. She struggled on the uneven bars for ninth place, but that was still good enough to earn a 59.566 score for first in qualifying.
Biles’ biggest threat, Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, finished second behind Biles with 57.700 points. She edged out Biles’ American teammate, Suni Lee, who grabbed 56.132 points to qualify for the finals.
Biles Battles Calf Injury to Lead Team USA
While Biles was dazzling the crowds in Paris, she was toughing out a calf injury that she suffered earlier in the day. During warm-ups, Biles tweaked an injury she suffered two weeks earlier, according to U.S. head coach Cecile Landi.
“I can’t express it”, Landi said after Biles’ performance. “I’m really proud of her and what she’s been through and what she’s showing the world what she’s capable of doing.”
Fortunately, the injury did not hamper Biles’ ability in the qualifying competition. Landi noted that at no point did they consider pulling her out of the Olympics. Although she won’t be at 100%, Biles will be healthy enough to compete in the finals.
In addition to Biles’ impressive individual all-around score, she helped lead Team USA to the lead in the team all-around qualifying standings. In the absence of a threat from Russia, the Americans are heavy favorites to win gold at Paris 2024. The USA notched 172.296 points to clear second place Italy’s 166.861 points.
If Biles avoids aggravating her injury to a point where she can’t participate in the finals, Team USA is expected to cruise to an Olympic gold!
“Twisties” Non-Factor for Biles at Paris 2024
At Tokyo 2020, Biles was a shell of herself in the gym due to what she described as the “twisties”. In short, the “twisties” are a mental block that prevents gymnasts from maintaining a connection between the body and mind.
Cleveland Clinic sports psychologist Dr. Matthew Sacco notes that the brain and body aren’t in rhythm together.
“All of a sudden, there’s a disconnect in the feedback loop. The brain and body are no longer communicating efficiently, and that causes a gymnast to lose sense of where the body is in space when they’re in the air.
Since Tokyo 2020, Biles has been able to overcome the mental block and persevere. Although Biles is dealing with a minor calf injury, the “twisties” have not been evident at Paris 2024. She is in a strong place mentally and appears to have made the unfortunate ailment in the rearview mirror completely.
Biles has not officially announced that she will be retiring following the Olympics. However, there is widespread belief that this is likely her final Olympic Games. If this is the case, Biles is on course to go out on top of the world at Paris 2024.
