Ever more daring, ever higher — gymnasts have always been innovators, striving to nourish their sport with new moves and greater difficulty. Beyond medals and records, the supreme honor for a gymnast is to introduce a skill that comes to bear his or her name, allowing them to leave their mark on history.
While there are dozens of elements in the code of points named after the gymnast who first performed them, here are four that could make a difference in the women’s competition:
Balance Beam: The full twisting back flip
Gymnasts have been doing backflips on the Balance Beam since 1972, when Olga Korbut dared one at the Munich Olympics and won a gold medal as a result. In recent years, women have made the skill more complicated by adding a full twist to the element. Flipping and twisting makes trying to land on a four-inch piece of wood exponentially more difficult, but certain gymnasts are nevertheless known for their mastery of the skill. When done well, this element is magical, handsomely rewarded by the judges and equally appreciated by the audience.
Vault: The Amanar
When Simona Amanar debuted the Vault that came to bear her name at the 2000 Olympics, she could not have imagined that her element would become one of most potent weapons of the American team at the London Games 12 years later. The Amanar vault (roundoff onto the springboard, back handspring onto the table and a flip done with two and a half twists in the layout position before landing) is so difficult that it carries a 6.3 point difficulty score, half a point higher than most other vaults in the code of points.
In a sport where hundredths of a point can make the difference between gold and nothing, the Amanar’s difficulty is therefore an indispensable weapon. In the team final at the 2012 Olympic Games, all three U.S. women landed the vault successfully, allowing them to pull away from the rest of the field from the beginning. American McKayla Maroney did the Amanar so well that some have even suggested that it be renamed after her!
Uneven Bars: The Tkatchev and friends
The Tkatchev, one of the classic release skills on Uneven Bars, was originally an element performed by men on the High Bar. The Tkatchev is named for Alexander Tkatchev, became the first gymnast to soar backward over the bar, splitting his legs in the air and regrasping the bar on the way down. In recent years, innovators have begun doing more difficult variations of Tkatchev’s move, keeping their legs straight in flight, putting their toes on the bar before letting go or combining it with another release move to earn bonus points. When the Tkatchev is done well, it transforms a routine into an aerial showcase. But look out: if a gymnast falls, the backward momentum can lead to a thudding belly flop onto the mat below.
Floor: The Biles
It didn’t take Simone Biles long to mark her territory on Floor — big tumbling has been the two-time World All-around champion’s calling card since she was a child. Still, it was still a surprise when she unleashed her unique skill — a double back flip done in a layout position with a half twist at the end — in 2013. Biles lands the skill facing forward, meaning she loses sight of the Floor before her feet hit, which is one reason the element is considered among the most difficult on women’s Floor. It’s one reason that for the moment, Simone stands alone as the only female gymnast to tempt the Biles.
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