Simone Biles Makes History With New Move, Wins Sixth US Championship
On Sunday (August 11), the five-time Olympic medalist won her sixth all-around national title at the 2019 U.S. Gymnastics Championship in Kansas City, Missouri, tying Clara Schroth Lomady’s 1952 record.
Not only did Biles take home the trophy, she rewrote the history books in the process. During her Sunday floor exercise, she pulled off a triple-double, a move of two flips with three twists that has never been landed by a gymnast in competition. She attempted the jaw-dropping feat on Friday in floor exercise preliminaries, but used her hand to catch her from falling on the landing, negating its successful completion.
"I didn't want to be the last person to see it," Biles said of seeing her pull off the move on video, according to ESPN, "so I went online to see what it looked like, so that me and [coach Laurent Landi] could watch it. But I was very pleased that I actually landed it this time in competition."
On Saturday, Biles also set the stage for another move to be named after her. While on the balance beam, she successfully landed a double-twisting, double somersault dismount, which has never been attempted in Championship competition by anyone let alone landed.
If she’s able to successfully land the moves in international competition, the triple-double and double-twisting, double somersault will officially be named after Simone Biles, according to a Team USA press release.
Congratulations to Simone Biles for winning another title and making history all in one weekend.