Simone Biles, one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, expressed her gratitude after being nominated for the Laureus World Comeback of the Year 2024 for her sensational 2023 season.
In 2023, Biles returned to the competitive sport in the U.S. Classic 2023, two years after her appearance at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 in 2021, where she claimed the all-around, balance beam, and floor exercise titles, and collected the bronze in the uneven bars.
In the U.S. National Championships 2023, Biles surpassed the record of Al Jochim of seven national titles by claiming her eighth all-around national title. Additionally, she bagged the gold medals on balance beam, floor exercise, and a bronze in the bars.
This also made her the oldest woman to claim the title at 26 years and 166 days, breaking Linda Metheny Mulvihill (24 years and 100 days) in 1971.
On her comeback, Simone Biles delivered a spectacular performance at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2023 by clinching four gold medals in the team, all-around, balance beam, floor exercise, and a silver on vault.
Her sixth gold medal in the floor exercise event made her the first gymnast ever to achieve such an accomplishment on a single apparatus in the World Championships’ history.
After being nominated for the prestigious awards, the four-time Olympic champion, Simone Biles took to her Instagram (IG) account to share her emotions, stating:
“I’m always speechless about these nominations 😭🥹🤍 my sincerest gratitude for everyone who has supported me & continues to support my journey & dream”
Simone Biles is one of the six athletes to have received a nomination for the World Comeback of the Year 2024. Sebastien Haller (football), Katarina Johnson-Thompson (athletics), Siya Kolisi (rugby), Jamal Murray (basketball), and Marketa Simkova (tennis) are the others who have been nominated for the award.
The Laureus Award Ceremony will take place on April 22, 2024, in Madrid, Spain.
Simone Biles is the first woman to land Yurchenko double pike
Simone Biles became the first female gymnast to successfully execute the Yurchenko double pike internationally at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2023 in Belgium.
This was her first time landing the vault at an international event, having previously achieved it during the U.S. World Selection Camp 2018, and GK US Classic 2021.
Oh. My. Goodness. 16.000 for @Simone_Biles at World Selection Camp. pic.twitter.com/JYptNXRRvs
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) October 11, 2018
Natalia Yurchenko was the first gymnast who performed the Yurchenko routine, named after her.
The standard routine involves a round-off entry onto the springboard and a back handspring onto the vault table. But, when it comes to Biles’ version, the double pike is included besides the routine. The double pike incorporates two aerial flips and the body position she acquires while performing the flips.
