Simone Biles training on the vault. Photo / Getty Images
Simone Biles training on the vault. Photo / Getty Images
Simone Biles is ready to go.
Back in May, the American gymnastics superstar made waves when she became the first woman to land a Yurchenko Double Pike. Now, she's pulling it out in practice.
Biles showed a glimpse of what fans can expect when turning into the vault event ofthe artistic gymnastics schedule at the Tokyo Games in a training run this week, pulling off the complex move and making it look easy.
The Yurchenko Double Pike consists of a roundoff onto the springboard, followed by a back handspring onto the vault. The gymnast then does a double pike - which is two full rotations during which the athlete has their legs stretched straight out rather than tucked in.
Simone Biles training on the vault. Photo / Getty Images
Biles is on a quest to further cement her legacy as one of the greatest of all time at Tokyo, with the opportunity to match former Soviet Union representative Larisa Latynina's claim for the most gold medals by a female Olympian with nine - should she stand at the top of the podium in five of her six events.
Biles will compete in the vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise fields, as well as the all-around field. She will also compete for the USA in the team event.
The 24-year-old claimed gold medals in the vault, floor exercise, all-around and teams competitions at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, while adding a bronze on the balance beam.
The women's artistic gymnastics gets under way on Sunday, with the medals all decided by August 3.
