Simone Biles' Rio Olympic Routines Could Include These Upgrades
It's 2016 and while some people are making resolutions about dieting, new jobs, and training for other things, gymnasts are likely only thinking about one thing:
The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio are only months away.
For the current reigning all-around world champion Simone Biles, the months preceding the Olympics will be all about solidifying her routines. Courtesy of a new documentary from FloGymnastics, fans have found that Simone Biles' Rio Olympic routines could include these new upgrades.
1. Vault Upgrade - The Cheng
Biles has never won a gold medal on one event that she has consistently medaled on: vault. That is usually due to the fact that despite scoring highly on one of the hardest vaults in women's gymnastics, her second vault lacks the same difficulty.
Not for long however as Simone Biles has expressed on social media that her goal is to unveil her new more difficult vault in 2016. The new vault, previewed in the videos below, is called a Cheng and is arguably the second most difficult vault being competed in women's gymnastics today.
2. Beam Upgrade - Standing Arabian
With two beam gold medals under her belt, at this point, Biles likely could compete her current beam routine in the Rio Olympics and secure another gold medal. However, in her recent "Golden Girl" documentary with FloGymnastics, Biles showed off a new balance beam skill called a standing Arabian (a back flip with a full twist). It's possible that she's just training it, but having the skill could put her so far ahead of the competition that she could win even if she falls off the beam.
3. Floor Exercise Upgrade - The Moors
At the 2015 American Cup competition, Biles unveiled a new opening tumbling pass that was comprised of two flips in a laid-out position with a full twist. It would appear that based on her new training videos, Biles may add one more twist to this opening tumbling pass. Only a few female gymnasts have ever competed the skill, including Simone Biles' teammate in the 2014 world championships, Mykayla Skinner.
Though Simone Biles will likely continue to make adjustments to her routines until the 2016 Rio Olympics, fans can get their first glimpse of her new routines at the 2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships.