The gymnast officially became the first woman to complete the challenging Yurchenko double pike vault in a competition at the U.S. Classic in Indianapolis on Saturday
PHOTO: EMILEE CHINN/GETTY
As the most decorated U.S. women’s gymnast in history, it’s safe to say Simone Biles is the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) —and to make sure you don’t forget, the Olympian arrived at her first competition in over a year with a subtle reminder bedazzled on the back of her uniform.
Biles, 24, wore a white GK Elite leotard that featured mesh long sleeves, a pink and orange rhinestone design, and silver rhinestones in the shape of a goat head on her back during the U.S. Classic in Indianapolis on Saturday.
She backed up her fashion statement by landing the Yurchenko double pike — a challenging vault the athlete has been working on since last year — for the first time ever during a competition, earning a total score of 16.1. With the impressive feat, she officially became the first woman to complete the Yurchenko double pike in a competition, according to The Washington Post.
Biles was seen practicing the move during a training session on Friday, and fans were eager to see if she would attempt it at the U.S. Classic.
“It was really nerve-wracking but I’m just happy to be back out here, competing on a competition floor in an arena with the girls especially after a long year and the time off we’ve had,” Biles told NBC Sports after the competition on Saturday.
Speaking about the historic vault, she said, “I was just thinking, ‘Do it like training. Don’t try to like overdo anything,’ because I have a tendency, as soon as I raise my hand, to overpower things … I did a little bit, but I was still on my feet. It’s a new vault and I’m proud of how today went.”
In 2019, the athlete wore a similar leotard embellished with her last name and the outline of a goat head at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Kansas City.
“I don’t want to be cocky or anything,” she said at the time, when asked if she expected to get criticism for taking on that GOAT mantle. “My mom was really worried about the leo today. … I don’t think there will be anything bad except for some fans and some haters.”
Biles did, however, received backlash online for being the only gymnast on her team with her name on the back of her leotard. She later explained the circumstances (hers was made first, before realizing not all of the gymnasts’ last names would fit on their leotards, but they decided to leave hers as-is).
“They already made mine and said we’ll keep yours, but we’ll put WCC on the back [of the other gymnasts’ leotards],” Biles said. “Then everybody had a conniption … To me, it was almost like it was a little bit sexist as well because any sport has the last name on the [uniform] … Most are male. And so I feel like if females have it, they’re like, oh well, who does she think she is? And I got a lot of those comments that night. I didn’t think anything was wrong with it.”