Rebeca Andrade, the maiden Olympic champion gymnast of the Brazilians, has been enjoying her time in the spotlight as the reigning Olympic vault queen and World Champion on vault. But that spotlight faced a threat when Simone Biles came back in 2023 with the threat known as the Yurchenko Double Pike vault! Only Biles can pull off this technical and difficult gymnastics marvel among women, and there are only a handful of men in the world who’ve even attempted it. Her vault has the highest difficulty on the International Gymnastics Federation’s Code of Points, with a 6.4 difficulty score. Last year, Andrade managed to surpass Simone on vault at the World Championships, but that was Simone just gaining momentum on the YDP.

Fast forward a year to 2024, and Simone Biles has taken her Biles II to a whole new level. She’s perfected the Yurchenko Double Pike to the point where she doesn’t even need her coach Laurent Landi’s assistance anymore. During the Paris Olympics podium training, Simone left no doubt about her dominance with a flawless Biles II. But don’t think Rebeca is just sitting back and watching the vault battle from the sidelines.

A post on Instagram by Inside Gymnastics announced that Rebeca Andrade has submitted her own eponymous vault skill, the Triple Twisting Yurchenko, to the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). Most gymnasts only perform the double-twisting Yurchenko, which sits at 5.0 difficulty. With the triple-twisting Yurchenko now in her arsenal, Andrade is gearing up to challenge Simone for the vault gold medal at the Paris Olympics 2024. But this vault, which could be called “The Andrade” will earn a 6.0 difficulty rating, making it a game-changer!

The triple Yurchenko is no easy feat—it kicks off with a round-off onto the springboard, followed by a back handspring onto the vaulting table, and then a backflip with stretched salto backward with a 3/1 twist at 1080° off the ground before sticking the landing. It’s the ultimate version of the Yurchenko, which basically means any vault starting with a roundoff and back handspring. To have this move officially named after her in Paris, Rebeca needs to pull it off without a hitch in at least one phase of the competition.

No woman has ever nailed a Yurchenko with a triple twist before, and currently, the only vault tougher than this in the women’s code is The Biles II. If Andrade lands it successfully at any point during the women’s competition in Paris, it will be the first element ever named after her in the code.

The post Simone Biles vs Rebeca Andrade Saga Gets New Twist as Brazilian Gymnast Counters USA GOAT’s Shocking News at Paris Olympics appeared first on EssentiallySports.



from EssentiallySports https://ift.tt/pOwWHro