?Don?t Think It Can Be Better?: Despite Starting YDP, Teary Eyed Natalia Yurchenko Sides With Simone Biles for Securing Her Dream

In the world of artistic gymnastics, Natalia Yurchenko shares the story behind her self-titled vault element. The 1983 all-around world champion conveys her thoughts on Simone Biles’ groundbreaking double pike. Before Simone Biles became a household name in artistic gymnastics, the Soviet women’s team reigned supreme. Much like Biles, the Soviet team dominated the sport. They clinched eight consecutive Olympic team gold medals from 1952 to 1980.

The team continued their success in the year of 1988 and performed under the banner of the Unified Team, in 1992. The soviet team played a central role in advancing the sport during a period of rapid change. In a video that has resurfaced on the internet from the official page of the Olympics, Yurchenko who started the YDP was left with no words and said, ?I was dreaming about seeing it. It was kind of tears of joy” on Biles’s YDP performance.

Natalia Yurchenko’s dream aligned with Simone Biles’ feats

Natalia Yurchenko, in an exclusive interview with Olympic Channel at her gymnastics club, reflected on those transformative times. The interview happened in the CITY Club Gymnastics Academy in Chicago’s South Loop. She noted, “The 1980s marked a significant shift in gymnastics. It all began with Olga Korbut, followed by Nadia Comaneci, and after the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, a new generation emerged, introducing a flurry of challenging maneuvers.”

The vault innovator was a part of this pioneering generation. She introduced a vault entry technique that bears her name and forever altered the sport. Simone Biles recently brought this technique back into the spotlight on May 22 in the year of 2020. The athlete executed an advanced version that concluded with a double-piked somersault. In an interview with teary eyes Yurchenko “don?t think it can be better, I was dreaming about seeing it” on Simone Biles’ feat.

?It?s such a joy to see that something that you started doing, getting into such a progress and [allowing] other people to compete with more difficulties and raise the bar even higher and higher,? said Yurchenko.? None of it would have been possible without either groundbreaking woman. For Yurchenko, it was the culmination of her legacy in the sport and a dream she had as a child to leave something for future generations.

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Before Yurchenko’s innovation, vaulters approached the vault in one of two ways. They were mainly head-on or with a half-turn, a method attributed to the Japanese gymnast Tsukahara Mitsuo. Yurchenko’s inventive approach involved a round-off onto the springboard followed by a backhandspring onto the vaulting horse. This revolutionary technique allowed gymnasts to generate greater power. Which would help them to execute more complex vaults, ushering in a new era of vaulting in gymnastics. Biles, the legendary gymnast has stunned the world with her attaining the 5th element in her name at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

Biles continuing YDP’s legacy at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

Simone Biles, in continuing the tradition of pushing the sport’s boundaries, demonstrated a cutting-edge version of the Yurchenko vault. It offers a larger surface area, which is ideal for executing the Yurchenko entry. She displayed remarkable precision in her routine and achieved a score of 14.566. On the floor exercise, Simone Biles showcased her signature tumbling skills.

She stayed well within the mat’s boundaries, earning a score of 14.633. Her performance outshone all others that day by more than eight-tenths of a point. During the fourth rotation, Biles made history by becoming the first female gymnast to execute a Yurchenko double pike vault at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

This remarkable element has now been officially named the “Biles II” in the gymnastics rulebook. The athlete has now marked her fifth named element. She received a score of 15.266 for her vault. Biles’ score of 15.266 included a 0.5-point penalty. This penalty was applied because her coach, Landi, stood on the podium for safety reasons. Biles performs her gravity-defying maneuvers on a completely redesigned vaulting table. With this impressive achievement, it is also clear that Biles has indeed made Natalia Yurchenko happy by continuing the legacy.

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