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Simone Biles Says She’s No Longer Performing This Gymnastic Move in the Most Unforgettable Way
Simone Biles revealed she is retiring her famous Yurchenko Double Pike, which helped her win a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Simone Biles’ most famous move will now just be the wind beneath her wings.
The gymnast revealed that she is officially retiring her famous Yurchenko Double Pike, which is considered one of the hardest moves in gymnastics and also helped Simone win gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Simone shared the news on Instagram Sep. 2, writing, “rest in peace yurchenko double pike,” alongside a heart hands emoji and photos of her posing in all-white atop a vault table—which slightly resembles a coffin—surrounded by white flowers. She also posted the photo to her Instagram Stories, cementing the move’s status as dearly departed with three headstone emojis.
And fans were delighted by the 27-year-old’s ode to her famous move, with one commenting, “OMG you just threw a funeral/eulogized your vault. I am deceased.”
Another added, “She said ‘i hope yall saw that bc i will NOT be doing it again!!'”
And one user joked, “Girl you killed it. Literally.”
Yurchenko-style vaults—named for former gymnast Natalia Yurchenko—are common among gymnasts who often perform the moves with one flip. But Simone took it a step further by adding a second flip, making it the Yurchenko Double Pike, also dubbed the Biles II, a move that consists of a roundoff onto the springboard, followed by a back handspring onto the vault. She made history in May 2021 when she became the first woman to land the move during a competition.