We are almost seven months past the last women’s artistic gymnastics event of the Paris Olympics. But we’re almost living in those days. The reason? Two names: Biles 1 and Brie Clark. Until last Friday (February 28), there had been only four women gymnasts (Simone Biles herself, Trinity Thomas, Hillary Heron, and London Phillips) who tried Biles 1 on the mat. And in the NCAA gymnastics, there had been none. But the gymnastics match between Clemson Gymnastics, Texas Woman’s University, and the University of New Hampshire on February 28 changed the landscape. That was the day when Brie performed the Biles 1 successfully on the floor exercise—the very first time in NCAA gymnastics’ history. Since then, several things have happened behind the scenes. And what are they?

The initial reaction came from Simone Biles herself. The 11-time Olympic medalist didn’t miss a bit of watching the move performed by the Clemson gymnast. 12 years ago, she was the first female gymnast to give life to the move that had a double layout with a half twist. Because she pulled off the move for the first time in an international contest (2013 World Championships), it was named after her. And now, 12 years later, Simone saw history being made in the college gymnastics circle, far away from elite gymnastics.

The scene ultimately satisfied her and led her to comment on Instagram on the same day, at first, “congrats 🎉🎉🎉🎉🤭🤭🤭🤭,” and then, “& closing out Black History Month! YES MA’AM 😮‍💨 iktr!!!!!!!” The praise coming directly from the most decorated gymnast elated the redshirt junior from Daphne. While showing that emotion, she said, “Twice! She knows I exist.” Since then, social media has been experiencing the fever. And it is time to see some fresh comments. 

The latest one came in Brie Clark’s admission of Simone’s wish for her. In her conversation with ESPN SportsCenter, she said, “For her, she is the best gymnast in the world, like, period.” Pausing for a moment, Brie further conceded, “So she’s really just competing against herself and really just beating herself. So for me, she inspires me to like, okay, like don’t worry about outside noise or what else is going on. Just worry about being better, 1% better every single day. And every time you go out there to compete, just learning more about yourself and just getting better every time.” For Simone, her stint with college gymnastics came to an end in 2017. She actually forfeited her NCAA eligibility that year to focus on professional gymnastics. But her story still motivates athletes in college gymnastics. Interesting, no? However, for Brie, anything coming from Simone poses a motivational element for her. 

On that note, consider Simone’s acknowledgment of Brie’s seamless performance. It’s almost a week. But the standout athlete has yet to forget those double reactions from Biles on Instagram. Shedding light on that, Clark further said, “It didn’t feel real, but it’s really, really cool because she’s [Simone] somebody that I’ve looked up to for a really long time and she’s inspired me throughout my time doing gymnastics. So for her to acknowledge me and give me words of encouragement was really, really, really special.” Her unfiltered response extended in her words, “It meant the world to me that she took time out of her day to do that.” But Brie couldn’t impress the NCAA judges with her historic move on the mat. 

Last Friday, Brie Clark’s performance helped the Clemson Tigers win the challenge in their first-ever tri-meet. But her Biles 1 on the floor failed to secure a perfect ten on the scoreboard. Her stepping out of the bounds on the landing deducted 0.100 from the final score. She ended with 9.800 in the routine. She missed the cookies, though. Yet she didn’t miss the tea. How? Here comes the scoop. 

The standout’s emulation of Simone Biles’ move earns big prizes 

The first instance of performing Biles 1 in college gymnastics didn’t earn the gymnast a perfect ten. But the authority couldn’t keep its eyes off the performance. So? Recognition started to fall into place. On this occasion, the first one came directly from the league office. 

On March 3, Brie Clark was named the ACC Specialist of the Week. The title was the third one in Brie’s so far college gymnastics career. But it was the first weekly ACC award for her program in this ongoing gymnastics season. Hold on! There was another recognition for Clark. This time, it came from her coach. 

On February 28, Brie’s coach, Amy Smith, had a post-match interaction with the media. However, Fox Carolina News shared the entire scene on YouTube. In that clip, the Tigers’ coach was heard saying, “That was history tonight—she was the very first collegiate gymnast to successfully compete and land and execute, uh, the Biles I.” The redshirt junior has been in the discussion. What can she ask for more than this?