A Yurchenko double pike is one of, if not the most difficult moves for a gymnast to land.
So the fact that Simone Biles is the only female gymnast to ever land the move during a major international competition should put her in a category of her own, which is exactly what U.S. Men’s National Team gymnast Paul Juda thinks.
In an interview with NBC Chicago, Juda argued that Biles’ ability to land the YDP is what puts her head and shoulders above any other female gymnast in history.
“What’s really difficult about [the YDP] is that there aren’t too many men’s athletes that do it,” Juda said. “When you put it into perspective, there’s never been a female that’s done it until Simone, right? And so putting Simone already into her own kind of G.O.A.T category is one thing, but yeah, the vaults extremely difficult.”
The Yurchenko double pike has a difficulty score of 6.6, making it the most difficult move to complete on vault in women’s gymnastics.
It begins with a round-off onto a springboard, followed by a back handspring onto the vault that leads into two full rotations and finishes with the gymnast landing in a pike position.
THE QUEEN HAS SPOKEN 👑
Simone Biles landed her Yurchenko double pike for the first time in competition.@simonebiles // #USClassic pic.twitter.com/j07ZweBZ8H
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) May 23, 2021
But the move isn’t just difficult for women, men have a tough time landing the move as well, which is why few even try. Juda, however, is one of the men who can land it, and his firsthand knowledge of the move’s difficulty is why he believes Biles is the GOAT.
“I’ve talked to Simone before,” Juda added. “We’ve both said that it’s a bit of a scary vault. I actually had to discontinue training the vault after the World Championships to lessen harm on my elbows. It’s very, very grueling … it takes a lot of impact.”
