Paris (AFP) – US gymnastics great Simone Biles is aiming to have a sixth unique skill named for her, a new move on the uneven bars that she will unveil at the Paris Olympics. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said Friday that Biles had submitted the original skill to the technical committee. If she completes it successfully during the Games, it would be the sixth skill named for Biles and give her one on every apparatus.
She has two skills named for her on vault, two eponymous tumbling skills on floor exercise, and one balance beam dismount. FIG described the skill as “a clear hip circle forward with 1 1/2 turns to handstand,” saying it was a variation on a skill first done by Canadian Wilhelm Weiler. The move would see her circle her body below one bar, rising back into a handstand and then pirouetting 1 1/2 times before stopping in the handstand.
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The federation said Biles is likely to do the new skill at the beginning of her uneven bars routine. If Biles completes the skill, she’ll be the only active female gymnast to have at least one skill named for her on all four apparatuses. Skills are named for the first gymnast who does them successfully at a major international meet.
Biles, the winner of four gold medals in Rio de Janeiro, had her Tokyo Olympics cut short by a debilitating bout of the “twisties” and is set to launch her Paris campaign on Sunday in the women’s qualifications. Nellie Kim, a five-time Olympic gold medallist for the former Soviet Union, holds the record for the most eponymous skills, with seven named for her.
Other women aiming to have original elements named for them in Paris include Brazilian Rebeca Andrade, who has submitted a Yurchenko triple twisting vault. Lieke Wevers and Naomi Visser of the Netherlands will both attempt a triple turn with one leg held horizontally on floor exercise. If the two teammates both complete the move, the element will bear both their names.
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