Simone Biles is approaching 1 million views for a jaw-dropping Yurchenko double pike vault, one that’s so risky, no female has ever attempted it during official competing. The 24-year-old superstar gymnast, ramping up her training ahead of the weekend, posted a training video for her 3.9 million Instagram followers yesterday, one that immediately went viral and caught the attention of both 31-year-old Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin and NBA icon LeBron James. Clearly, prep for the Tokyo Olympics is going well. Check it out below.
Scroll for the video. It showed Simone in a bright purple leotard and pulling off the incredibly-complex move, one she’s been perfecting since last year. The 30-time World and Olympic medalist, going for something that’s only been attempted by men at competition level, was seen charging up with a powerful and determined run, then effortlessly back-flipping at break-neck speed to land her double pike – and she nailed it.
The Yurchenko is named after Soviet gymnast Natalia Yurchenko, involving a back handspring approach to the springboard followed by a double-back flip in the pike position.
Simone barely needed to steady herself after landing, with coach Laurent Landi seen prepping for a risky one with both arms out, and seemingly not needing to support the Ohio native. Simone, seen grinning after the flawless delivery, captioned her video: “Podium training.”
“That looks like a gold to me” quickly came in from NFL player boyfriend Jonathan Owens. Also impressed was five-time Olympic medalist and 2008 all-around champion Nastia Liukin. The Russian-born star called the video “insane.” See more photos after the vault.
Speaking afterwards, Simone said: “I was really nervous chalking up. I was like, ‘It’s OK. I’ve done this so many times. I’ve been doing it for months now. So I felt prepared, and I knew I was prepared.”
“It was just like the initial landing out there in the arena. But once I did it, I felt a lot better,” she added. Biles, who made 2020 headlines by removing her sweatpants with her feet in the now-viral Handstand Challenge, revealed prep for this move in March. More photos after the jump.
Two months ago, while revealing her Tokyo Olympics training, Simone stated: “So far, we’ve been training it pretty consistently and there haven’t been too many times where I was like, ‘Oh, that was really scary. Maybe we shouldn’t do that.”
Simone, making 2020 headlines for her Uber Eats promo, is now also in the news for ditching Nike for GAP Athletica and showing off a new leotard collab. If you missed her bathrobe “Versace on the Floor,” just scroll.
