Simone Biles, the legendary American gymnast, is poised to make history once again at the upcoming Paris Olympics. She has submitted an original skill to the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) for consideration, aiming to have a sixth unique move named after her.
This new skill, a variation on a move first performed by Canadian Wilhelm Weiler, involves a clear hip circle forward with 1 1/2 turns to handstand. Biles plans to execute it at the beginning of her uneven bars routine.
If successful, Biles will become the only active female gymnast to have at least one skill named for her on all four apparatuses. She currently has two skills named for her on vault, two on floor exercise, and one on balance beam.
The FIG describes the skill as “a clear hip circle forward with 1 1/2 turns to handstand.” It requires Biles to circle her body below one bar, rise back into a handstand, and then pirouette 1 1/2 times before stopping in the handstand.
Biles’s submission comes after a challenging Tokyo Olympics, where she withdrew from several events due to a debilitating bout of the “twisties.” She is now determined to make a strong comeback in Paris and cement her legacy as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time.
Nellie Kim, a five-time Olympic gold medalist for the former Soviet Union, currently holds the record for the most eponymous skills, with seven named for her. Biles is now on the cusp of surpassing that mark.
Other female gymnasts aiming to have original elements named for them in Paris include Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, who has submitted a Yurchenko triple twisting vault, and Lieke Wevers and Naomi Visser of the Netherlands, who will both attempt a triple turn with one leg held horizontally on floor exercise.
