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Watch: Simone Biles Accomplishes Vault No Woman Has Ever Done Before

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What do a bumblebee, a hummingbird and gymnast Simone Biles have in common?

The answer: Nobody’s quite sure how they’re able to fly, but they take to the air like they could be nowhere else in this world.

And what’s more, Biles looks a lot more graceful doing it.

At the USA Gymnastics selection camp, where the team will be choosing its five-woman squad for the world championships in Doha, Qatar, Biles showed up less to audition for a spot on the squad –anyone with two functioning eyes and a passing knowledge of gymnastics knows that decision is all over but the shouting — and more to just plain show off.

And with this vault, Biles basically told the world “The top prize for the rest of you will be a silver medal.”

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When the time comes to judge the contest, they’re going to need Spinal Tap to sit in so that the scores go to 11.

The folks at Inside Gymnastics were nice enough to slow it down for those of us mere mortals who could no further comprehend in real time just what wonders we saw that could we when watching the wings of a hummingbird in full flap:

The vault featured “a roundoff onto the board and half twist onto the table,” followed by two full twists in order to ensure that Biles landed facing away from the vault table.

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Previously, the best a woman had ever done on the vault was the same entry but with 1.5 twists in the air, a maneuver named “the Cheng” after Cheng Fei of China, who pioneered the move in 2005.

When a gymnast invents something new on the fly, she gets her name attached to it, so the move Biles pulled off gets to be called “the Biles.”

Even better? There’s already a move in gymnastics called “the Biles” — the “double-layout half” on the floor exercise event is also known as “the Biles.”

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All of this is capped off, however, by the fact that Biles only got back into competitive gymnastics last November after taking a year off from competition.

It’s safe to say she’s back in Olympic shape.

Of course, it was a mere formality that Biles made the team headed to Qatar for the worlds:

And much like Michael Jordan coming back to basketball in 1995, what this means for the rest of gymnastics is likely just everyone else fighting for that consolation prize. The champion spot’s on lockdown.

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Boston born and raised, Fox has been writing about sports since 2011. He covered ESPN Friday Night Fights shows for The Boxing Tribune before shifting focus and launching Pace and Space, the home of "Smart NBA Talk for Smart NBA Fans", in 2015. He can often be found advocating for various NBA teams to pack up and move to his adopted hometown of Seattle.
Boston born and raised, Fox has been writing about sports since 2011. He covered ESPN Friday Night Fights shows for The Boxing Tribune before shifting focus and launching Pace and Space, the home of "Smart NBA Talk for Smart NBA Fans", in 2015. He can often be found advocating for various NBA teams to pack up and move to his adopted hometown of Seattle.
Birthplace
Boston, Massachusetts
Education
Bachelor of Science in Accounting from University of Nevada-Reno
Location
Seattle, Washington
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Sports




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