Simone Biles made her return to the world stage last week for the World Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium and seemingly made a new mark on history each day she was there.
For Biles, it was a long-awaited return to the World Stage, as it was her first major international competition since the Tokyo Olympics. She opened up about the experience in Antwerp in an Instagram post on Friday.
“Antwerp will always hold a special place in my heart,” Biles wrote.
For Biles, her historic performance in Belgium was highlighted when she became the first woman to land the Yurchenko double pike vault internationally, which by rule will now be named “Biles II”.
“The first time I got a skill named after me was in this arena and 10 years later I got my fifth skill named. I’m speechless. I’m honored. I’m excited and I’m blessed!” Biles wrote.
Biles got her first element named during her first World Championships run in 2013 on a double layout with a half twist on floor exercise. She was 16 years old at the time when she established herself as the sport’s ascending star in Antwerp that year.
There are now five “Biles” elements in the gymnastics code across the vault, floor exercise and balance beam events. This ties Uzbek phenom Oksana Chusovitina for the second-most ever in women’s gymnastics.
