But the pandemic ruined everyone's plans and postponed the Olympics for a year. Biles said she was devastated but supported the decision.<\/p>\n
Some fans wondered whether this setback would render Biles too old or too worn out to repeat the dominance she showed as a 19-year-old, four-time gold medalist at the 2016 Olympics.<\/p>\n
It turns out she's even better now than before — pushing herself and her sport to new heights (literally).<\/p>\n
Here are some of the astonishing skills Biles has introduced since winning her last Olympic gold — and how she's learned to excel despite severe personal trauma<\/a>.<\/p>\n Biles has debuted so many daredevil tricks, she now has four skills officially named after her.She unleashed one of them at the 2019 US Gymnastics Championships in Kansas City, Missouri — a triple-twisting double backflip on the floor.<\/p>\n Try not to get dizzy watching it.<\/p>\n This defiance of physics and gravity is called the Biles II. That's because Biles already had a floor exercise skill named after her, which she showed off at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.<\/p>\n The original "Biles" is a double laid-out backflip with a half-twist added mid-air. It has a blind landing, meaning the gymnast can't see the ground before landing.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/theegymmdiaryy\/status\/1396503629444567040?s=20<\/a><\/p>\n Yet another skill called the Biles — this one off the balance beam — is so difficult and dangerous, some say its namesake was penalised in points for performing it.<\/p>\n This "Biles" involves bouncing off a 10cm-wide balance beam and dismounting with two twists and two backflips. It's so risky that the point value for difficulty was downgraded to deter less capable gymnasts from trying it.<\/p>\n But at the 2019 US Gymnastics Championships, Biles didn't just prove this feat was possible — she also nailed the landing.<\/p>\n Even though Biles could win competitions without inventing new skills, she often pushes herself harder with mind-boggling tricks the world has never seen before.<\/p>\n Behold the Biles (vault): A roundoff onto the springboard, a half twist before hitting the vaulting table, then a front flip with two-and-a-half twists (fully stretched out) and a blind landing.<\/p>\n Don't try this at home.<\/p>\n After the 2020 Olympics were postponed, Biles didn't just hunker down in front of the TV.<\/p>\n She trained harder and tested more skills, such as a double-layout, double-tuck.<\/p>\n That means jumping into the air, doing two backflips without bending her body, landing, then immediately launching into two backward, airborne somersaults.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/Simone_Biles\/status\/1283100868804583424?s=20<\/a><\/p>\n In her latest flex, Biles showed off a vault that had never been attempted by a woman in competition.<\/p>\n At the GK US Classic in Indianapolis on Saturday, Biles performed a Yurchenko double pike vault<\/a>. That's a roundoff onto a springboard, a backward dive onto the vaulting table and two full backflips in the difficult pike position.<\/p>\n The vault takes immense power and strength. "Only a handful of men have done it," Olympic gold medalist and NBC sports commentator Tim Daggett said. "And she does it better than them."<\/p>\n It was a moment that trascended her sport, with NBA icon LeBron James among those dazzled by Biles' unprecedented prowess.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/KingJames\/status\/1395874962892722176?s=20<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/Simone_Biles\/status\/1396999190291652610?s=20<\/a><\/p>\n In recent years, Biles has also been a fierce supporter of sexual abuse survivors after saying she was among the dozens of young women and girls sexually abused by former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.<\/p>\n Even though she's still competing, Biles called out USA Gymnastics for not launching an independent investigation into the Nassar scandal.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/Simone_Biles\/status\/1238900533567651840?s=20<\/a><\/p>\n And while athletes grapple with derailed plans and uncertainty about the Tokyo Olympics, Biles and many others started helping those impacted by the pandemic.<\/p>\n She partnered with Athletes for COVID-19 Relief<\/a>, which supports the Center for Disaster Philanthropy's Covid-19 Response Fund.<\/p>\n Anyone donating more than $25 has a chance to win a leotard autographed by Biles or other autographed items donated by dozens of famous athletes.<\/p>\n "In a crisis like this, everyone wants to jump to their feet and help, and I had that opportunity," Biles told NBC's Today show.<\/p>\n "By donating that leo, it will make sure that kids don't fall behind in school and that small businesses are on their feet."<\/p>\n **This story originally appeared on CNN and was reproduced with permission<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0clicking here!<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
The triple-double on the floor (the Biles II)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The double-double off the balance beam<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
The mesmerising 'Biles' vault<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
The double-layout, double-tuck<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The Yurchenko double pike vault<\/strong><\/h2>\n
More than just gymnastics<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n