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Simone Biles and the U.S. women’s gymnastics team achieved an impressive seventh consecutive world title at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. Biles is now the most decorated gymnast in U.S. history, and the American women’s team has maintained their unbeaten streak in world team titles since 2011.
Despite their remarkable achievements, controversy surrounds the organization. Straight Arrow News contributor Jordan Reid contends that USA Gymnastics has misplaced priorities and is failing to adequately support its athletes.
Just a few days ago, while competing at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Belgium, Simone Biles became the first woman to ever perform the Yurchenko double pike. This skill will now be named the Biles II, the fifth of skills that have been named for her. It’s amazing. Truly, it’s a performance that will go down in history. Biles often takes small score deductions because the power of her performance can cause her to sort of bounce backwards upon landing, but on this occasion, there was an additional half-point deduction.
The reason — because her coach was standing on the mat, ready to assist should this incredibly risky vault go awry, which could happen even with a gymnast of Biles’ abilities. Her hand could slip, her push off the vault could be off-center, she could under-rotate and land on her head.
You may recall back in 2021, when Biles made the choice to step away from the Tokyo Olympics and the sport after experiencing “the twisties,” a common condition that affects gymnasts’ spatial orientation and one that can create very real safety fears. Upon Biles’ return to the world stage, she and her coach elected to have him physically on the mat while she performed the Yurchenko. He wasn’t touching her, he wasn’t interfering, he was simply there for her personal safety and, one might presume, well-deserved peace of mind.
