Simone Biles, Jake Jarman and other decorated athletes will be competing skills named after themselves in Antwerp, with some brand-new skills also making their debut.
5 minBy Sam Peene
Simone BILESArtistic Gymnastics
The days of the ‘Perfect 10s’ in elite gymnastics are long gone and the numbers on the scoreboard continue to grow.
Today, an artistic gymnastics score is made up of two main elements: difficulty and execution. Each gymnast starts with an execution score of 10 and their mistakes are deducted from there, but they can also add points by completing moves, or skills, of different difficulties.
The skills are rated on a scale from A to H, A being the easiest and worth 0.1 points, and H being the hardest, worth 0.8. They can also receive ‘bonus’ points for combining skills or creating series in which they flow through back-to-back elements.
Each year, the level of gymnastics gets higher, and this year is no exception. The 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium is an event you won’t want to miss.
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Simone Biles, Shilese Jones and Hatakeda Chiaki will be attempting to add new skills to the Code of Points – the official rule book that defines the scoring system – and other skills such as the triple back and double layout with three and a half twists on the floor will also be showcased at the championships.
Here are five skills you don’t want to miss at this year’s Gymnastics World Championships:
Shilese Jones, Skye Blakely, Kayla DiCello, Leanne Wong, Simone Biles and Joscelyn Roberson
Yurchenko Double Pike: Simone Biles
She already has four skills named after her, but now Simone Biles is going for her fifth.
If successfully competed, the Yurchenko double pike will become the hardest vault in the women’s code, valued at 6.4.
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For a skill to enter the code and become named after the athlete, they must first submit the idea for evaluation by the FIG Women’s Technical Committee, and then successfully perform it at an eligible competition such as the World Championships.
Biles successfully competed the ‘YDP’ in 2021 and 2023, but Antwerp will provide the first opportunity for the element to be inducted into the Code.
It involves a roundoff back handspring onto the vault, where she will then take off from her hands to complete two back somersaults in the piked position and come back down in an attempt to stick the landing.
The skill will be called the Biles II, as Simone already has another original vault: a roundoff, half twist on, to a front layout with a double twist off.
The Jarman: Jake Jarman
Until the arrival of Great Britain’s Jake Jarman, this skill was thought to be impossible.
Debuted earlier this month at the Paris World Challenge Cup from 16-17 September, the double layout with three and a half twists was landed, and “The Jarman” was born.
To an untrained eye, it looks like the Brit is moving through the air at the rate a video does when sped up at about three times the speed.
He holds control and awareness through the two flips and three-and-a-half twists to defy physics and any previous belief that the skill was unthinkable.
The 21-year-old will compete on the floor exercise for the first time at the Worlds on Saturday 30 September.
The Liukin (Triple Backflip): Luke Whitehouse
The triple backflip: it’s been around in competition for over 35 years, but only a handful of gymnasts have ever successfully competed the gravity-defying skill, and it is yet to be debuted by a woman.
The skill is done exactly how its name sounds — athletes will gain momentum from a short run up, round-off and oftentimes a back handspring before taking off and completing three somersaults in the air before returning to earth and attempt to stick the landing.
Luke Whitehouse first competed it in 2021 at the Croatia World Challenge Cup, where he became the first British gymnast to ever do so. He took it out of his routine shortly after, as his second attempt in competition was not as successful and he landed ‘short,’ meaning he under-rotated, and injured his ankles.
In 2023, he re-integrated the skill at the European Gymnastics Championships, where he was the only one to compete the skill, leaving the rest of the athletes with little opportunity to overtake his gold medal performance. He took the floor title and will be looking to do the same in Antwerp.
The Triple L Turn: Shilese Jones and Hatakeda Chiaki
USA’s Shilese Jones and Japan’s Hatakeda Chiaki have both submitted a triple turn with a leg at horizontal into the code of points for this year’s World Championships.
The element has earned an E value, which means 0.5 points will be attained when successfully completed in a floor routine.
As opposed to ballet, the gymnasts do not drop their heel between 360 degree rotations, but rather complete the full spin with a raised heel and the other leg held up at 90 degrees.
Jones had her sights set on the Tokyo Olympics before she was involved in a car accident that left her with a broken ankle and back. In her attempts to make a comeback and earn a spot on Team USA, she finished in 10th place in the U.S. Olympic trials and did not make the final roster.
Initially, Paris 2024 was not a thought that crossed her mind, but in the months before her father passed away in December 2021, he encouraged her to continue to pursue her Olympic dream. Today, she is one of six female athletes representing the United States in Antwerp.
The Kuavita: Noah Kuavita
The Kuavita, an extraordinary skill on the parallel bars that Belgium’s Noah Kauvita performed for the first time in 2021, involves him completing a double salto backwards with a half turn, before landing back on the bars with his upper arms.
Confused? This twitter video may offer a better explanation:
The skill earned an ‘F’ value and competing it for the first time at a world championships in 2021 is still one of Kuavita’s career highlights.
