Simone Biles nailed a Yurchenko double pike in her latest competition (again). Here’s why it’s so hard

Easing back into competition after two years is not Simone Biles' style.

Instead, the gymnastics superstar returned to the spotlight at the U.S. Classic on Aug. 5 by performing one of the most difficult aerial maneuvers in the sport.

Biles, 26, stuck a Yurchenko double pike, a vault that had never been achieved before in competition until Biles first did it in 2021. The stunning vault was part of a performance this weekend that brought home the all-around title by a large margin for Biles.

"The only way I could describe this vault compared to what we typically see is like seeing someone put on a mask and being like, ‘I’m a vigilante,’ versus just Ironman," NBC Sports analyst and former Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez, a two-time medalist, said Aug. 7 on TODAY. "I cannot express this enough, this is really hard. It’s extremely difficult."

Hernandez broke down the technical aspects of why the Yurchenko double pike is so difficult to execute.

"More often not, we see Yurchenko double fulls," she said. "So we see one less flip, but two twists and vault. Simone is like, ‘You know what? I’m just going to add an entire other flip before landing.’”

The vault showcases the different abilities that have made Biles the most decorated U.S. gymnast of all time. It received the highest score of the competition.

"You have to be strong so that way you’re able to brace for impact," Hernandez said. "You have to be strong so that way you can hit the table, tighten up and get enough height to add one more flip, and then be really smart in the air and have a sense of air awareness that Simone is known for having. It’s awesome."

Making it even more eye-opening is that it came after a two-year layoff for Biles. Her last gymnastics competition was the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, when she withdrew from multiple events while battling "the twisties" along with mental health struggles.

Hernandez, 23, applauded Biles for taking a step back from the sport to focus on herself while fighting "the twisties," a phenomenon in which gymnasts lose awareness of where they are in midair, making it difficult to land safely.

Hernandez also has first-hand experience with them.

"The twisties for each gymnast affects everyone differently," she said. "I know a year before Rio, I got the twisties really badly on a vault, and I had it for about eight months or so. I was doing Yurchenko double full, and for some reason my body would just open up at the 1½ and I’d land on my back.

"For me, it didn’t feel like it was mental," she continued. "It felt like my body had more control than my brain and it was doing whatever it wanted, and I had no kind of connection. Whereas for Simone, she described it as a mental injury. It feels like there’s that disconnect for her. It’s scary. It definitely is something where you don’t want to get injured because you have 'the twisties.'

"So her taking the time away from the sport to understand her body, her mind and how it affects her gymnastics is one of the best things she could’ve done."

A refreshed Biles looked like the gymnast who has dominated the world stage for much of her career on her way to four Olympic gold medals and seven Olympic medals overall. It raised the question of whether she will be competing in the Paris Olympics that kick off in July 2024.

Biles was noncommittal about her Olympic plans after the U.S. Classic, but Hernandez can attest Biles is still a step above the rest of the world.

"I can't tell the future, but what I can say is she's phenomenal," Hernandez said.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com