PARIS: Simone Biles has submitted an original skill on uneven bars ahead of the Paris Olympics that will be the American gymnastics great’s sixth move named after her and first on bars if she can successfully complete it.

The new skill is a “clear hip circle forward with 1.5 turns to handstand”, a variation of an element named for Canadian Wilhelm Weiler, which Biles has performed for much of her career, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said.

The move would see her circle her body below one bar, rising back into a han­dstand and then pirouetting 1 1/2 times before stopping in the handstand.

FIG’s technical committee awarded it a difficulty value of E on a scale from A to J, meaning it is worth 0.5 in difficulty.

The four-time Olympic champion already has five elements named after her including two vaults, two tumbling skills on floor exercise and a dismount on balance beam.

If Biles completes the skill, she’ll be the only active female gymnast to have at least one skill named for her on all four apparatuses.

Skills are named for the first gymnast who does them successfully at a major international meet.

Only Nellie Kim, the retired Soviet and Belar­usian five-time Olympic gold medallist, has more skills named after her, with seven.

Biles, the winner of four gold medals in Rio de Jan­eiro whose Tokyo Olympics was cut short by a debilitating bout of the “twisties”, is the fourth woman aiming to have a new element named after her at the Games, which for the women begin on Sunday with qualifications.

Rebeca Andrade of Br­a­zil will be attempting to perform a risky new vault in a bid to defend her gold medal from the Tokyo Games.

Both Naomi Visser and Lieke Wevers of the Netherlands have submitted a triple-turn on floor exercise with the leg in the horizontal position to hopefully be completed in Paris.

If the two team-mates both complete the move the element will bear both their names.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2024