Simone Biles is already making gymnastics history as she returned to international competition after a two-year hiatus. The 19-time world champion became the first woman to land a Yurchenko double pike vault at an international competition on Sunday.
Biles has been competing for Team USA at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastic Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. According to NBC News, she came in first by the end of the qualifying session with an all-around score of 58.865.
The vault is the most difficult jump in the women’s scoring code and had a difficulty score of 6.4 points ahead of Sunday’s championship. Last year, the most challenging vault had a score of 5.6, according to the outlet.
The move consists of a backflip off the vault and two complete rotations in a pike position before landing. It will now be known as the Biles II, the fifth element named after her. According to NBC New York, Biles had previously performed the vault during the 2021 U.S. Classic.
The 2023 World Artistic Gymnastic Championships marks Biles’ first international competition since the Tokyo Olympics. She had withdrawn from the event after suffering from the “twisties,” a mental block that makes gymnasts lose awareness of their bodies in the air.
Biles has been open about making mental health a priority. She said she has been going to therapy for nearly two hours weekly.
Competing in Antwerp, the gymnast became the first woman to represent the U.S. at six artistic world championships.
A stat that speaks for itself! 🗣️@Simone_Biles is set to represent Team USA at her 6th World Championships, becoming the only U.S. woman to ever do so. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/GtU8uRkW4J
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) September 20, 2023
Biles has won eight national titles, 25 world medals and seven Olympic medals.