Simone Biles submits new uneven bars element for 2024 Olympics
Simone Biles has submitted an original skill on the uneven bars ahead of the Paris Olympics that will be the American's sixth move named after her, and the first on bars, if she can successfully complete it.
The new skill is a clear hip circle forward with 1.5 turns to handstand, a variation of an element named for Canadian Wilhelm Weiler that Biles has performed for much of her career, the International Gymnastics Federation said.
FIG's technical committee awarded it a difficulty value of E on a scale from A to J, meaning it is worth 0.5 in difficulty.
USA Gymnastics teased the move on social media Friday.
The four-time Olympic champion already has five elements named after her: two vaults -- including the Yurchenko double pike -- two tumbling skills on floor exercise and a dismount on balance beam. She would become the only active gymnast to have an eponymous skill on all four events.
Only Nellie Kim, a retired Soviet and Belarusian five-time Olympic gold medalist, has more skills named after her with seven.
Biles is the fourth woman aiming to have a new element named after her at the Games, which for the women begin Sunday with qualifications.
Rebeca Andrade of Brazil will be attempting to perform a risky new vault in a bid to defend her gold medal from the Tokyo Games. Both Naomi Visser and Lieke Wevers of the Netherlands have submitted a triple-turn on floor exercise with the leg in the horizontal position they hope to complete in Paris.
Bars is considered the "weakest" of Biles' events in the sense that just one of her 37 Olympic and world championship medals have come on bars.
She remains one of the top Americans on the event, though USA Gymnastics co-lead Chellsie Memmel said this week that the Americans could sit Biles out of bars during team finals to give her a small break during the Games.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.