Panamanian gymnast Hillary Heron performs one of Simone Biles’ signature moves in an Olympic first
A historic tribute to the G.O.A.T.
Panamanian gymnast Hillary Heron became the first to land a complicated tumbling move named after Simone Biles – while competing against the American superstar at the Paris Olympics.
Heron on Sunday completely a difficult double layout – now called the “Biles I” during a qualifying session on Sunday. No other gymnast except its namesake has ever performed the move during an Olympic Games.
The 20-year-old Olympic newcomer incorporated the Biles I into her floor routine at the games’ gymnastics qualifier, in which she finished 36th overall.
Biles, the 27-year-old “G.O.A.T.” of the gymnastics world, made a stunning comeback in the same qualifying session Sunday, earning standout scores in every element and ultimately ending in first place. Biles and Team USA will go on to compete in the finals on Thursday. Although Heron won’t compete alongside them in that upcoming round, the Panama City athlete told the Games’ official news site Olympics.com after qualifiers that she’s already looking ahead to the next competition.
“Definitely I want more Olympics. This is the start of my career. I’m just very, very motivated for what’s to come next,” she said.
“I think it’s the floor routine of my life, just so much work that has gone into that floor that many people wouldn’t believe, hours and hour and hours and trusting myself,” Heron said. “I couldn’t believe I had done it, and I had done it just as I imagined it when I was four years old.”
Heron praised Biles, the most decorated gymnast in the world, for the myriad ways she’s changed gymnastics since her meteoric come-up at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Since then, she has become a seven-time Olympic medalist and five of Biles’ signature moves have been formally named after her – and Biles is trying for a sixth in Paris to become the only active gymnast to have an eponymous skill in all four events.
Gymnastics moves are named after the first athlete who performs them in an international competition, the International Gymnastics Federation Code of Points says, noting that those moves must also meet a certain threshold of difficulty in order to be considered.
The move that Heron performed on Sunday — a double flip with a half-twist on the second flip — was the first skill named after Biles. The Olympian first performed the move in 2013 when she was just 16 years old.
“She’s an inspiration, not only for me, for many gymnasts and being able to compete one of her skills at the World Championships and now on the Olympic stage definitely means a lot to me,” Heron told Olympics.com. “It shows the impact that she has not only in gymnastics but in sports.”
Heron said that Biles addressed her personally before the qualification session.
“When I was in the warm-up, she told me she loved my leo,” Heron said, explaining that her uniform included references to Panama’s traditional dress and national flower, according to Olympics.com. The athlete called their interaction “an ego boost” ahead of the competition.
