Simone Biles: Will she be the first female gymnast to perform risky vault in competition?

LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 13: Olympic gymnast Simone Biles attends Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Sports Awards 2017 at Pauley Pavilion on July 13, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CA - JULY 13: Olympic gymnast Simone Biles attends Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Sports Awards 2017 at Pauley Pavilion on July 13, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

Simone Biles has already been crowned the most decorated gymnast in the history of the sport and she’s looking to gain another victory.

Biles shared a video Thursday on Twitter of her performing an impressive vault move no female gymnast has done in competition. The move is called the Yurchenko double pike and she may be the first female gymnast determined to perform it during a competition.

READ MORE: Simone Biles is now most decorated gymnast in history after winning her 24th world medal

The Yurchenko consists of a round-off onto the springboard, then a back handspring onto the vault, writes the Washington Post. Once their hands hit the vaulting table, they push off into the air to do a single flip. That flip is where variety usually begins, the Post notes.

Biles actually shared the move earlier this month in a video on Twitter in preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

READ MORE: Simone Biles dominates world championships with amazing new signature move

In response to the first clip, Biles shared, the Post article reports that the vault move might be “too risky” for the Olympics and why no woman has performed the skilled in competitions.

“[W]hat prompted awe on social media was how she seemingly could have landed it on a competition surface. Olympians and elite-level gymnasts responded to the tweet in disbelief,” the Washington Post reports. “The video has been viewed more than two million times.”

Gymnast McKayla Maroney, a member of the gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic team in 2012, said in a 2016 interview with the GymCastic podcast, she was scolded by team coordinator Martha Karolyi for doing the same move .

Maroney said the flip requires “the most intense block” once pushing off the vaulting table with your hands.

The video, regardless, has sparked excitement among some fans.

Biles won four gold medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and three years later winning her 24th and 25th world championship medals, according to The Associated Press.

 

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