Here Are the 10 Best Gymnastics Routines of 2021 in All Their Flip-and-Flair Glory

Jade Carey's routine during the Tokyo Olympic women's gymnastics floor final was by far the best, cleanest, and most well-executed floor performance I've ever seen her do. It came after a mistake in the vault final the previous day knocked her out of medal contention. She didn't break out the triple-twisting double layout that would have been named after her had she landed it successfully in competition; however, her powerful tumbling proved to be a sight to see regardless. That double-double layout in the beginning was just spectacular!

"Coming back from a day like yesterday, I'm really proud of myself for being able to put that behind me and finish with probably the best floor routine I've ever done in my life," Carey said after the competition at the time. Next up, you'll see her compete for Oregon State's gymnastics team.

Nia Dennis is known for her Beyoncé floor routine from 2020, but this year, the UCLA senior (now graduated) gave us a performance all season long that specifically celebrated Black culture. The routine, called "The Culture," featured a stepping portion and was set to songs by artists like Kendrick Lamar and Missy Elliott. At this particular meet, she scored a 9.95 against Arizona State.

Simone Biles's bronze-medal finish on the balance beam at the Tokyo Games was a great moment — any Olympic moment that results in a medal would be great by definition — but it was that much more memorable due to the mental hardship she faced leading up to it. She pulled out of the team final after a disorienting and dangerous case of "the twisties" on vault interfered with her planned Amanar, and she proceeded to pull out of the all-around, vault, bars, and floor finals as well to prioritise her safety.

Was this Biles's best performance on paper? No. But it signified something greater than her and her sport. As I wrote at the time: "Biles's return is about more than just contending for — and claiming — a medal. It's about returning to a sport that has given her so much success and sorrow after a mental struggle that most of us can't begin to comprehend. . . . Great athletes win medals. True champions are brave enough to acknowledge (even accept) hardship, then, in the face of adversity, show up to support their teammates and remain vulnerable while the whole entire world is watching."

Margzetta Frazier's Janet Jackson floor routine (approved by Jackson herself!) is forever ingrained in my mind. Then a junior at UCLA, Frazier incorporated choreography from the singer's music videos, and it truly is iconic. With this particular routine, she scored a 9.925 versus Brigham Young University.

Trinity Thomas is no stranger to perfect 10s in NCAA gymnastics (she's gotten eight across multiple events, according to her Florida Gators roster profile). This particular performance took place in February, and she brought a combo of powerhouse tumbling, showmanship, and flexibility.

Rebeca Andrade's vault gold medal at this summer's Olympics made her the first Brazilian woman to win artistic gymnastics gold at an Olympic Games (the US's MyKayla Skinner, who filled in for Biles, claimed silver). Earlier in the Games, Andrade became Brazil's first Olympic medalist in women's artistic gymnastics when she won silver in the all-around competition.

Andrade's Cheng vault was a little off-balance, and she stumbled out of her second vault, a Yurchenko two-and-a-half, but she still managed to come out on top, making Olympic history a second time for her country.

Chae Campbell made her NCAA gymnastics debut as a freshman in 2021, captivating audiences nationwide. Her dance-party "Desert Goddess" routine was full of personality and flair. This particular video is from the 2021 Pac-12 Championships, where she scored a 9.95.

I couldn't forget about the iconic moment from this year's GK US Classic, Simone Biles's first meet since the 2019 World Championships, when she debuted a Yurchenko double pike. It's a vault that no woman gymnast had ever before done in elite competition, and it consists of a roundoff onto the springboard connected to a back handspring onto the vault (that's a Yurchenko) and two backflips in a piked position. Technically speaking, her body flips through the air two and a half times. Had Biles done it at the Olympics, it would have been the fifth skill named after her.

Suni Lee, POPSUGAR's November digital cover star and the Olympic all-around gold medalist, became the first Hmong American to medal at the Olympics this summer. During her all-around performance, she got a 15.3 on bars (arguably her best event) and went on to claim that coveted title. She is set to compete with Auburn University as a freshman this coming January!

Before I leave you to dream about the upcoming year of gymnastics, I'd be remiss not to call attention to Chellsie Memmel. She's a gymnastics veteran — she won world all-around gold in 2005 and Olympic team silver at the 2008 Beijing Games — who, at 32, came back to the sport after almost a decade break. She competed at the GK US Classic in May and Nationals in June this year. And by the looks of it, she's not finished yet!