Simone Biles is not just the greatest gymnast in U.S. history, she's the best in the world. During the qualifying round of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Biles finished in first place overall with a 59.566. Behind Biles in second place, Brazil's Rebeca Andrade with a 57.700, over a point-and-a-half higher than Team USA's Suni Lee.
Andrade, however, could debut a new skill on vault during the Women's All-Around Finals or the Vault Finals that could boost her chances of possibly defeating Biles. Andrade submitted the Yurchenko triple twist to the International Gymnastics Federation and the move earned a 6.0 difficulty rating.
If the 25-year-old performs the skill without any major errors, it will be named "The Andrade" as she will be the first gymnast to ever complete the Yurchenko triple twist in competition. While there's a teaser on social media of Andrade attempting the skill, no video has surfaced of her landing the vault in training.
With a backflip and three twists before landing, it's one the most difficult versions the Yurchenko, a term used to describe any vault that starts with a roundoff back handspring.
Andrade's other vault, the Cheng, is also incredibly impressive.Andrade, who won gold on vault at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, earned a 15.100 for her vault during the Team Finals in Paris, the highest score the night. Brazil won bronze in the Team Finals, the country's first team medal ever.
However, if Biles lands her signature vault, the "Biles II," which has a difficulty level of 6.4 -- the highest in the entire competition, the most-decorated American gymnast of all time will remain untouched. The 27-year-old did her version of the Cheng, the "easier" of her two vault during the Team Finals, and scored a 14.900. Team USA still won gold by a large margin.
During the 2023 World Championships, Andrade won gold on vault while Biles took the silver. While Biles attempted the "Biles II" in Belgium, she performed the vault with coach Laurent Landi on the mat for safety, which docked her a half-point in competition, and fell backward on the landing.
There's also a chance Andrade doesn't perform the Yurchenko triple twist at all. Biles submitted a new skill on the uneven bars before the start of the Paris Olympics and has yet to attempt the move in competition.
As for the Women's All-Around Finals, Biles remains the heavy favorite. For Andrade to pull off an upset, she'd need to debut the triple twisting Yurchenko, stick the landing, and be near perfect on all four events. At the same time, Biles would have to falter on every apparatus -- which absolutely no one wants to see.
At the end of today, viewers simply want to see both gymnasts be at their absolute best.
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