Simone Biles pulled off her riskiest stunt during Olympics podium training, and it's a sign she's going all-out in Tokyo
- The US gymnastics team participated in podium training at the Tokyo Olympics Thursday.
- Simone Biles pulled off the Yurchenko double pike for the first time in months.
- The move signifies that Biles is going all-out in Tokyo rather than playing it (relatively) safe.
Simone Biles is gearing up to go all-out at the Tokyo Olympics.
During Team USA's podium training session on Thursday, the American gymnastics GOAT pulled off her most impressive skill to date. She completed the elusive Yurchenko double pike vault - a stunt so risky that Biles is the only woman ever to attempt it in competition - and, as usual, made it look positively casual.
Former American gymnast and Olympic gold medalist Tim Daggett captured the stunning feat for NBC:
Now check it out in slow motion:
Thursday's training session marked the first time Biles has attempted the Yurchenko double pike vault - which, as Daggett notes, will soon be known as "The Biles" - since she debuted it at the US Classic in May. Though the 24-year-old is perfectly capable of completing the mind-boggling stunt without issue, she erred on the side of caution. She performed slightly less difficult vaults at US Gymnastics Championships and Olympic trials in June.
Perhaps that decision was motivated, at least in part, by a desire to protect an ailing ankle that's given her trouble in recent weeks. But now that she's in Tokyo preparing for the last major event of her illustrious career, Biles appears ready to ramp up the difficulty of her program and perform her most impressive skills on the world's stage, including the soon-to-be "Biles."
Realistically, that'll translate to Biles besting her competition by unfathomably wide margins and taking home multiple gold medals when all is said and done in Japan. She'll begin her official Olympic slate at women's qualification on Sunday at 2:10 a.m. ET.