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Simone Biles Becomes First Woman to Land Incredibly Difficult Vault

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Biles pulled off the Yurchenko double pike on Sunday—in her official return to elite competition after years away.

Simone Biles poses with her arms up after a performance at an international gymnastics competition in Belgium.
Reuters/Yves Herman

U.S. gymnast Simone Biles shone in her return to competition Sunday, becoming the first woman to ever land the Yurchenko double pike vault at an international competition. It was a feat so impressive, gymnastic officials say they’ll rename the stunt “Biles II”—the second move to be named after the U.S. star. The high-difficulty skill is usually only attempted by men, Reuters reported, but Biles completed it seamlessly in Belgium—taking only a single step back after she launched into the piked double backflip. The stunt wasn’t the only highlight of Biles’ day—she posted an impressive all-around score of 58.865 to put her in first place at the end of her qualifying session. The commanding performance was the cherry on top of Biles’ first international competition since she withdrew herself from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after suffering from the “twisties”—a phrase used to describe a dangerous phenomena where gymnasts lose track of their positions in midair. The next summer Olympic Games will commence next July in Paris.

Read it at Reuters