“Not having to think about doing a yurchenko double pike is a blessing”- Simone Biles weighs in on concluding her Paris Olympic campaign

Simone Biles is taking some well-deserved rest after her successful campaign at the Paris Olympics, and she's making the most of it. Recently, the gymnast shared with fans that one of her favorite things about taking some time away from the sport is the fact that she doesn't have to worry about executing her Yurchenko double pike.

For Biles and her trademark Yurchenko double pike, 2024 has been one success after the other. The American opened her season at the Core Hydration Classic, where she stormed to gold in the vault on the back of her signature move. The 15.6 score on the double pike also helped her claim the all-around title, getting her season off to a winning start.

Next, the Olympic champion competed at the Xfinity US Gymnastics Championships, where her Yurchenko double pike a.k.a the Biles II once again led her to the top of the podium on vault as well as the all-around. A similar performance, a couple of weeks later at the U.S Trials, saw her make her third consecutive Olympic team.

At the Paris Games, Simone Biles reclaimed her title on the vault and all-around, once again aided by the move that no one else, except Biles, can compete. Now, after going unbeaten on the vault this season, credit to the Yurchenko double pike, the 27-year-old revealed that she's happy to be taking a break from performing the complex move, writing on Threads,

“Getting up and not having to think about doing a yurchenko double pike is a blessing.”

Post by @simonebiles

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Simone Biles’ timeline competing the Yurchenko double pike

Simone Biles first debuted the Yurchenko double pike in May 2021, while competing at the U.S Classic. However, the gymnast opted out of competing in the complex maneuver at the Tokyo Olympics due to the ‘twisties’ and subsequently missed out on a chance to get it named after her.

After a nearly two-year-long hiatus from competitions after the 2020 Games, Biles was back in the gym in 2023 to once again compete in her Yurchenko double pike on the domestic circuit. At the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp that year, the American finally got a chance to debut her move on the international stage, subsequently getting it renamed the ‘Biles II’ and making it her second eponymous skill in the vault.