Share
Simone Biles’ retirement plans might still be a bit up in the air, but one thing is definitely set in stone, she’s officially retired her signature move, the YDP vault. And that’s a pretty big deal. Biles has racked up 41 medals at the World Championships and Olympics, more than any gymnast, be it male or female ever has. But what makes her more interesting is: that she’s got five moves named after her in the Code of Points, which means long after she steps away, her impact on gymnastics will stick around. But why did she retire from YDP?
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Biles herself has compared retiring it to holding a “full-on funeral” for the skill. After pulling it off at the 2021 Olympics, she decided it was time to leave it behind. With all the tough moments she’s shared, it was clear just how much of a mental and physical toll the YDP had on her. Now, Simone’s former coach is opening up about how confident they were in her ability to nail this insane move in the Paris Olympics, and just what it took to pull it off.
The Yurchenko double pike, also known as the Biles II, is a beast, scoring a 6.4 in difficulty, it’s one of the hardest and most ‘dangerous’ moves ever performed by a woman in gymnastics. It involves a round-off onto the springboard, a handspring onto the vault, and then two flips in a pike position before landing with no margin for error. Biles made it official in September when she posted an Instagram Story with a picture of herself in all white, sitting on a vault surrounded by white flowers, saying, “R.I.P Yurchenko double pike.” This came after the Paris Olympics, where she nailed the vault in both the all-around and vault competitions, winning gold in each.
The Biles II became one of her signature moves, but she didn’t perform it all the time because, well, it’s scary. Simone herself has said it’s just terrifying to do every single time. “It’s every time you do it, you’re scared. Every time I do it, I’m like, ‘OK, one more time.’” She’s done about 100 of them, but she says the first and last ones felt just as nerve-wracking. Despite all the fear, though, Simone nailed the Yurchenko double pike at the Paris Olympics while dealing with a calf injury, no less. But the moment before that was pretty intense for everyone watching.
Before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, Cecile Landi, Simone Biles’ former coach, recalled with Sports Illustrated a tense yet unforgettable moment during podium training. As Simone prepared to perform her signature Yurchenko double pike, there was a noticeable weight in the air. Coming off her time at the Tokyo Olympics, where she faced health challenges, Simone’s performance that day felt more pivotal than ever. As she got ready for the vault, the room fell completely silent. You could feel the anticipation; volunteers had their phones out filming, other gymnasts paused to watch, and American fans were tuning in early, eager to see if Simone could still deliver.
When Biles launched into the move, she executed it flawlessly. The silence that had gripped the room was replaced with a collective sigh of relief. Landi, clearly overcome with emotion, let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding and said, “We’re all breathing a little bit better right now. I’m not going to lie.” It wasn’t just a flawless vault, it was a performance that summed up everything that Simone has had to go through. But the question remains: Will Simone Biles join LA28?
Simone Biles recently suggested that her tenure in the Olympics may be over soon. During an interview with Sports Illustrated where she was awarded as the 2024 Sportsperson of the Year, Biles looked to her gymnastics future. As a career woman and after winning a record-setting performance at the Paris Olympics, the 27-year-old said that she has a very slim chance that she could compete in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. “Because I’ve accomplished so much, there’s almost nothing left to do, rather than to just be snobby and to try again and for what? I’m at a point in my career where I’m humble enough to know when to be done,” she shared.
The 7-time Olympic gold medalist recognized the sacrifices that she would have to make should she return including putting off her plans to start a family with her husband Jonathan Owens. She posed the difficult question, “What’s really worth it? I can see it, and I hear it from people, and I see a glimpse of it, but the full magnitude I don’t think I’ve realized just yet. I don’t think I’ll realize ’til maybe I retire and look back in a couple years like, Damn, she was good. Because I can see that but I do it every day. So for me it’s normal,” she said. However, if Biles returns to the LA-28 Olympics, she will be 31 by then.