At its base, underneath the glittery leotards, ripped abs and all that chalk, gymnastics is about pushing boundaries.
One more twist. One more rotation. One more flip. One more test of the laws of physics and your own mettle.
Doing something never done before under the lights and in front of the judges provides not just a shot at gold, but also a kind of immortality: your name next to a particular skill in the Code of Points. Athletes at the Gymnastics World Championships — which conclude today — who submit a new skill and complete it successfully in competition could find it added to sport’s governing body’s rule book by the end of the event.
Photo: EPA
When three-time all-around champion Simone Biles tries to add to her stash during event finals, her gravity-escaping floor exercise routine will include the “Biles,” a tumbling run that found its way into the code two years ago almost by accident.
Concerned about the pain in her Achilles every time she tried to complete her second pass with double-layout and full twist, Biles and coach Aimee Boorman decided to improvise. Rather than a full twist, Biles chose to do a half-twist and turn outward. Doing less sounds easier, but it is not. The move required Biles to basically land blind, because she can not see where her feet are in relation to the floor until the last second.
“It was almost kind of necessity is the mother of invention,” Boorman said. “Her calf was hurting. She had bone spurs in her ankles and she’s really good at floor with landings.”
Biles took the combination to one of the US national team training camps hoping to get a nod of approval from team coordinator Martha Karolyi and the rest of the staff. She did, kind of.
“They were like: ‘OK, it’s different, but she lands it most of the time,’” Biles said with a laugh.
So Biles and Boorman videotaped it and sent it to the International Federation of Gymnastics before the 2013 world championships to let them know it was coming. Biles drilled it and the federation’s technical committee approved it, putting the description in the code with Biles’ name next to it.
Getting into the code was not exactly the point when Biles and Boorman brainstormed. It was for Brenna Dowell. The 19-year-old spent a lot of time working on her own aggressive tumbling pass, one that ends with a front double-pike.
Dowell pointed to the Worlds as a chance to get the bold move into the books. She nailed it, despite having to do her entire routine without music due to a technical glitch, an accomplishment that helped take some of the sting out of later being benched by Karolyi for the team finals.
“I got it named after me, so that was pretty cool,” said Dowell, who took home gold after the US won their third straight world title.
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