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. But Rebeca Andrade is not the only one trying to get new moves named after them at the Paris 2024 Olympics!

Simone Biles, Rebeca Andrade, and two stars aim for the ultimate flex: getting their names in the history books!

As the Paris Olympics artistic gymnastics showdown kicks off on July 27, Simone Biles, Rebeca Andrade, Lieke Wevers, and Naomi Visser are all set to add some serious flair to the competition with new skills that could end up named after them!

Simone Biles is bringing the heat with a fresh move on the Uneven Bars. She’s aiming to add a clear hip circle forward with 1.5 turns to handstand—a twist on a move already named after Wilhelm Weiler. This skill, likely to be featured at the start of her routine, has been given a difficulty rating of E (0.5). Already a legend with five elements named after her—including two vaults, a couple of tumbling skills on the floor, and a dismount on the balance beam—Biles is gunning for that elusive sixth.

Currently, no woman has a skill named on all four events, though Svetlana Khorkina once had the record with up to nine elements named. To get this new move officially named after her, Biles will need to pull it off flawlessly during the competition. If she does, she’ll cement her status even further in gymnastics history! But that’s not all!

On the Floor Exercise, Dutch gymnasts Naomi Visser and Lieke Wevers are aiming to make a splash with a triple turn while holding their leg horizontal. This move, rated E for difficulty (which means a solid 0.5 on the scale), could soon be named after them if they nail it.It’s not the first time this move has been attempted—two other gymnasts gave it a shot at the 2023 World Championships but didn’t quite pull it off. Wevers also tried to get this skill named after her at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics but didn’t succeed. And she has her fingers crossed to get it this time around! With all these gymnastics stars aiming to have new skills named after them, do you think they’ll pull it off at the Paris 2024 Olympics? Share your thoughts in the comments below!