Simone Biles has performed an original move on the uneven bars ahead of the Paris Olympics that will be the American's sixth eponymous move – and her first on bars, if she can complete it successfully.
The new skill is a clear forward hip circle with 1.5 twists to a handstand, a variation of an element named after Canadian Wilhelm Weiler that Biles has performed for much of her career, the International Gymnastics Federation said.
The FIG technical committee has given it a difficulty value of E on a scale of A to J, meaning it is worth 0.5 in difficulty.
USA Gymnastics He mocked the movement on social media Friday.
šāļø image.twitter.com/wmz12X5jmB
ā USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) July 26, 2024
The four-time Olympic champion already has five elements named after her: two vaults, including the Yurchenko double pike, two acrobatics on the floor and a vault on the balance beam. She would become the only active gymnast to have a namesake skill in all four events.
Only Nellie Kim, a retired Soviet and Belarusian five-time Olympic gold medalist, has more skills named after her, with seven.
Biles is the fourth woman to hope to have a new element named after her at the Games, which begin Sunday with women's qualifications.
Brazilian Rebeca Andrade will attempt a new and risky jump in a bid to defend her gold medal from the Tokyo Games. Both Naomi Visser and Lieke Wevers of the Netherlands have presented a triple twist on the floor with the leg in a horizontal position which they hope to complete in Paris.
The bars are considered Biles' “weakest” event in the sense that only one of her 37 Olympic and World Championship medals has come on bars.
She remains one of the top Americans on the event, though USA Gymnastics co-director Chellsie Memmel said this week that the Americans might leave Biles off the bars during the team finals to give her a little rest during the Games.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
