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Simone Biles Double Layout Double Backflip Video

Simone Biles Can't Stop, Won't Stop Defying the Laws of Gravity With a New Tumbling Pass

We don't doubt that Simone Biles has incredible athleticism — but in case you needed a reminder, you'll want to take a look at a video she posted on July 14. Above, you'll see Biles tumbling down a strip of floor called a tumble track during practice. She does a round-off back handspring into a double layout (a double backflip in a laid-out position) and connects it to a double backflip (or "double tuck," as she calls it).

Biles writes that she hasn't done a double tuck since she was 13 — so, naturally she connects it to an entire tumbling pass years later. To put things into perspective, connecting any type of flip (let alone a double backflip) after a double layout is downright difficult, but Biles does it with ease and has so much power that she over-rotates the landing.

You might see gymnasts do flips out of big skills like this in the power tumbling discipline of gymnastics — Biles, though known for her power, does artistic gymnastics, and the tumbling in her floor routine is high in difficulty, but she does not connect two different types of double backflips in any of her regular tumbling passes. (Note: that being said, she has added a front layout to her name-bearing double layout half, which is impressive in its own right.)

This isn't the first instance Biles has given us a glimpse into her gymnastics practices amid COVID-19. She's been back in the gym for a handful of weeks now, and she showcased a jaw-dropping triple-double dismount off of beam in June. The Tokyo Olympics may be postponed, but Biles is using this extra time to play around with new skills — and we're all for it! Because of its difficulty, if she actually were to add this new pass into her floor routine, I'd be downright flabbergasted.

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