Simone Biles started gymnastics at 6 years old. Seventeen years later, she is the most decorated gymnast in American history, and she revolutionized modern day gymnastics. The new skills she created  motivate other gymnasts to add more difficulty to their routines.

    Simone Biles debuted her first original skill at the 2013 World Championships. She performed a double flipping layout with a half twist on floor exercise. This was also the year that she became the first African-American athlete to win the All-Around gold medal in the world championships (Mead). Biles didn’t coin another skill until the 2018 World Championships. This skill was a “Yurchenko half on with two twists”(Skills Named for US Gymnasts), meaning she did a roundoff back-handspring with a half twist and after she pushed off of the vault table, she completed two more full twists. Then at the World Championships the following year, she produced two more skills under her name. The first was on floor, it was a double flip in a tuck position with 3 full rotations around. The other was on beam, it was a dismount with two flips in the tuck position with two full rotations. According to Wyne Davis, a gymnast must submit their move for consideration and successfully land it in a competition in order for that skill to be named after them, which is why these skills were not officially created until Biles competed them.

    These skills are why Simone Biles has “changed how other gymnasts approach the floor exercise, both in and out of the US” (Schuman). With the introduction of the first skill in 2013, her second in 2018, and the last two in 2019, Simone Biles has transformed the expectations of gymnasts, coaches, and judges alike. These skills add variety and difficulty to the code of points, and push other gymnasts and coaches to strive for the same difficulty Biles is competing at.

Have you ever flipped on to the top of your head while tumbling during a gymnastics practice, which resulted in a concussion lasting 18 months? If your answer is no, don’t worry, I can tell you all about it.

As I walked into the gym that afternoon, I felt my eyes drooping and my feet dragging behind me. The usual smell of chalk and sweat was in the air, although it was cooler than I had expected it to be in the middle of September. I looked across the gym, noticing the many different colors of blue, sparsely cut with accents of red and green and yellow and orange on the different colored mats we had laying around. The younger girls had started running around the floor for warmup, and my team was quick to follow. As my teammates and I started stretching for our first event, I tried to mentally prepare myself for what I suspected to be a difficult practice. I knew what was going to be expected of me during this practice, and I knew that trying to accomplish it on 3 hours of sleep was going to be grueling. 

My teammates and I knew what was coming, but even still, I could feel the dread fill the air as we were being told our assignment on floor. We expected to do full routines, seeing as our competitive season was fast approaching, but there is always an inkling of hope that your coach will give an easier assignment. Full routines meant that we would be doing all of our skills intertwined with music and dance, which is more tiring and nerve wracking than you might think. My teammates and I started warming up our tumbling skills. The thuds of feet on the baby blue spring loaded floor sound like far away thunder as I began warming up. As I stepped up to go, I could feel the fear gathering in the back of my throat, almost like I was trying not to cry. I sprinted down the floor, my feet flew over top of my head, and I found myself landing on my butt. I tried again, with no luck. I sprinted harder the next time, and still, I don’t land on my feet. I looked over to my coach, about 100 meters to my left, and heard him crystal clear as he screamed at me to tumble harder. As my other teammates start their floor routines, I can hear their jazz pop music in the background while I tried my hardest to focus on what my coach had corrected me on. I stepped up and took my next turn. I sprinted harder than I thought I could, flipped my feet over faster than I had all day, except this time instead of landing on my butt, I felt my right temple make contact with the floor which then was followed by the rest of my body. The music cut out. The gym, and every person practicing, seemed to go silent. Their gaze felt hot, and the seconds between the fall and my coach asking if I was ok, seemed more like minutes. I was extremely discombobulated and proceeded to go into the bathroom to cool down. Although the bathroom floor was icy on my feet, the air still seemed warm, so I stepped outside through the main lobby to cool down further. It was already dark outside which thankfully helped me disguise my tears from the parents that were coming to pick their kids up from the recreational classes. 

I finally gathered myself and walked back inside. My team moved to the next event which was beam. Standing on a 4-inch piece of wood raised 5 feet in the air is already difficult, and after hitting your head it gets even harder. Gracesyn, one of my teammates noticed how hard I struggled and asked,

“Jules are you good?”

“I feel…like weird, I feel loopy or something. I can’t balance…”

“Yeah I know I saw you trying to do your routine”

“I don’t know what’s wrong but I just don’t feel safe up here”

“Go ask to sit down”

I sat and watched my teammates for the rest of practice, which was about 30 minutes. As I left I told my parents what happened, and they suggested a doctor visit considering my symptoms. As I sat in the exam room, with the lights off, I didn’t think my concussion would take 18 months to heal. I didn’t think that I would be sitting in that same spot 18 months later not doing gymnastics anymore. I expected to return to practice in 2 weeks. I expected my goals, personality, priorities, friends, and life to stay unchanged through this concussion. The person at the first appointment struggled with the idea that things change, that change is a part of life. 18 months later, after losing things that I had considered part of my identity, I knew that change is more closely related to growth than it is to destruction. 

Once upon a time, there were two gymnasts. One of the gymnasts, Briana, always did things very fast. She was new to the gymnastics world, and had learned all of her skills very quickly. She was extremely talented, so she never really had to work hard or put much effort in to what she was doing. This would be her first year competing in the World Championships. She was confident she could win and was arrogant about her abilities. 

There was another gymnast named Marina. Marina had been competing for many years now, but she had just started to perfect her skills. She had slowly been rising through the ranks and thought that this year would be her time to shine. Marina worked very hard and had put countless hours in to learning and perfecting her skills. Although she was confident she was never arrogant and always supported fellow gymnasts.

At the World Championships, Marina and Briana finally met. Briana was still confident she would win over Marina, and Marina could sense the arrogance in the young gymnast. Near the end of the competition the girls were tied for first place. They both only had one more event left, and that was Balance Beam. Marina was very sure of herself on beam, because she had practiced many hours to make sure she would be able to stay on. Briana was not as sure of herself anymore, because although she was able to complete the skills, she hadn’t practiced them enough and fell nearly every time she competed on beam. 

Marina competed first and had a flawless routine. She never even so much as wobbled from the middle. Briana was up next. She started with her mount and was now preparing to do her first skill. Briana started flipping and her foot slipped off of the side of the beam. She fell to the mat like a rock, and landed directly on her ankle. Briana was unable to compete the rest of her routine which meant that Marina would be the  winner of the competition. Although it took Marina many more years to reach the level of intensity they were at, she was much safer than Briana and was able to compete with a much more level head.

So much depends

Upon

A spring-loaded 

Floor

Covered with blue

Carpet

Beside the glimmering

Trophies