US gymnastics superstar Simone Biles returned to competition with a bang Saturday, completing a historic vault to launch her final run to the Tokyo Olympics.
The five-time Olympic gold medallist, who hadn’t competed since winning five golds, including a fifth all-around title, at the 2019 World Championships, delivered on the vault she’s been preparing — a Yurchenko double pike — at the US Classic in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The vault, featuring roundoff onto the springboard and back handspring into a piked double backflip, had never before been done in women’s competition.
Biles sailed through it with so much power that she over-rotated slightly and stepped back on the landing.
“I was just thinking, do it like training,” she said of her mindset as she took off down the runway.
“Don’t try to overdo anything, because I have a tendency as soon as I raise my hand to kind of overpower things. I did a little bit, but at least I still was on my feet and it’s a new vault.”
Posts of Biles completing the vault in practice had set social media sites buzzing. NBA superstar LeBron James had retweeted a video of Biles landing it.
