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Simone Biles
flips and twists
into gymnastics
history
When you’re a shoo-in for your
sixth national title, you might con-
sider playing it safe. Especially in a
demanding sport like gymnastics
where longevity is nearly impossible
to achieve. But Simone Biles is not
just any athlete. She’s the most deco-
rated U.S. gymnast, with 25 world
championship and Olympic medals.
She earned that sixth national all-
around title at the U.S. Gymnastics
Championships in Kansas City, Mo.,
on Aug. 11, and made history doing
it. During the meet, the 22-year-old
from Texas completed not one, but
two skills that have never before been
successfully executed by a female
gymnast in competition.
Biles opened her unforgettable
performance by dismounting the pre-
carious 4-in.-wide balance beam with
a double-double—two somersaults
while simultaneously twisting twice
in the air. Then on floor exercise, she
launched her triple-double jumping
combination, catapulting herself high
enough off the mat to flip twice while
twisting three times before becom-
ing earthbound again. Immediately
afterward, she picked up her phone
to check the replay. “I didn’t want to
be the last person to see it,” she said.
Biles already has two skills (on floor
and vault) named after her because
she was the first to pull them off; if
she performs these new ones in inter-
national competition next season, she
will have four.
Next summer at the Tokyo Games,
she hopes to become the first U.S.
gymnast to repeat as Olympic all-
around champion—and make history
yet again. —alice park
Biles competes on the balance
beam at the U.S. Gymnastics
Championships on Aug. 9
PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMIE SQUIRE—
GETTY IMAGES