Simone Biles once opened up the challenging moment of learning a difficult skill on the uneven bars. In her autobiography Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance, she looked back on the time she was trying to learn a move called the counter swing, aka a straddle back on the bars.
However, her short structure brought difficulties in competing in the event, Biles stated that she was scared to look at the low bar as it felt far away and dangerous. While her coach Aimee Boorman wanted her to look at the bar while performing the switch, the gymnast just wanted to execute the routine, hoping she would catch the bar.
“Aimee worked hard to build my confidence on bars. We’d practice the routines till I was dreaming about them in my sleep. I remember when she was teaching me how to do a move called the counter swing, aka a straddle back,” she wrote.
“When I’m doing the move, I can’t really see the low bar except through my legs, but at first I kept not looking for the low bar because it seemed so terrifyingly far away. ‘Look for the bar!’ Aimee kept yelling, because she could see I was flying blind. ‘I don’t want to look!’ I yelled back, ‘It’s too scary! I just want to swing and catch it!'” she added.
However, with her resilience and determination Biles mastered the counter swing and made it through to level eight.
Simone Biles once performed a Tkatchev on uneven bars in her competition despite struggling in competition
Simone Biles once performed a Tkatchev on uneven bars in her competition despite struggling in competition. Her coach Aimee Boorman wanted Biles to perform the skill at the 2011 CoverGirl Classic, which served as the qualifying event for the national championships.
However, Biles lacked the confidence to execute the skill and was seen crying in the bathroom before the event. A few moments later, Lexie Priessman, a gymnast, who Biles respected, gave her a piece of valuable advice and suggested releasing the bar even if it felt too early.
Simone Biles followed the instruction given by Priessman and performed the Tkatchev on uneven bars, which to her surprise, was a perfect execution. It was the first time she performed the skill without any mistake at a competition.
