Olympics gymnastics scoring: How Simone Biles keeps pushing the limits of the sport to the brink
Simone Biles is unquestionably the greatest gymnast any of us have ever seen.
When I say this, I mean it quite literally: No one has been able to accomplish what she’s been able to accomplish — not just in awards and accolades but also in ability. She does things that no one else can do.
She’s been so good that gymnastics, as a sport, hasn’t always known how to handle how good she is. That’s been reflected in some of her Olympic performances in the past.
We know how the scoring system works and the basics of the sport, but she completely shatters those conventions.
Biles was so impossible back in 2019 that the International Gymnastics Federation dinged her for doing something no one else could do simply because it didn’t want other gymnasts to try.
Yes, that’s right. She was penalized for being better than everyone else.
Biles pulled off a double-twisting, double-somersault dismount off the beam during Team USA’s championship series. It was an incredible feat to watch.
The move was assigned an “H” letter grade, which is eight-tenths of a point, instead of the maximum possible which would’ve been a “J,” giving Biles a full point.
Biles’ double-double was unprecedented, but because of its boundary-pushing nature, it was graded on a curve. The decision was criticized heavily — rightfully so.
The Women’s Technical Committee released a statement in the days following Biles’ big moment explaining the decision.
“In assigning values to the new elements, the WTC takes into consideration many different aspects; the risk, the safety of the gymnasts and the technical direction of the discipline,” it said. “There is added risk in landing of double saltos for beam dismounts (with/without twists), including a potential landing on the neck.”
Biles was obviously unhappy about it.
hahahaHAHAHAHAHhahaHahaAhahAhahahaAhahahHAHAahaaaaaaaHa bullshit https://t.co/NAnzBlfh8c
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) October 1, 2019
The move is now one of many named after her and something that, still, all these years later, no one has been able to pull off in competition.
Simone Biles broke gymnastics.