Simone Biles gravity-defying physics

Is Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles really unbeatable? We break down the physics behind her signature move.

Less than halfway through her first Olympics, Simone Biles is already a legend USA gymnast. She is not merely better than any other in female gymnastics right now. She is quite possibly the best female gymnast ever—dominating on the beam, floor and vault. Watch Simone Biles on video and see she does more complicated tricks and has nearly flawless execution, and she already has a move named after her.

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[RK-evdw]

Oh my God her landings are beyond impressive. She looks majestic.

[wenweru]

I wonder if she'll find a glitch that lets her twist into the air infinitely. Or have they already patched that out?

[cgs]

her landings are so powerful omg if i did that, i'm pretty sure my knees would be wrecked

[riiick]

is it just me or do yall see how high she gets its crazy

[OOTD_]

I remember growing up as a kid in an urban neighborhood we used to flip for fun. I wish somebody would have steered some of us in this direction because we only knew about football, baseball, and basketball. We had some truly incredible boys out there. I remember one kid could walk up trees and flip off them like it was breathing. I could do 15 back flips in a row, twist, summers, half twist, and this is all in the grass. I think I'm going to try to get the schools in my community to bring in gymnastics and swimming.

[cindylloyd]

At the time of this post, Simone has now successfully completed a triple-double, two flips and three twists. Awesome to watch.

[hannahkoppel]

Simone: *exists*
Physics: Am I a joke to you?

[WakandaBabe]

People need to stop criticizing Biles for having the good sense to recognize when her brain wasn't working right. That's what happened. It's the brain's/body's reaction to enormous stress. Her brain effectively 'shut down' so that she couldn't judge her spatial position. And that is very dangerous. There is a very informative interview with an expert consultant (I think I saw it on CNN or the NY Times...who does not currently work with Biles) that explains what happened. He said he could see it happening to her in her previous performances before her final vault. He could tell she was actually going through the air with no knowledge of where she was in her space, and therefore, she had no way of knowing where or how to land. It doesn't happen to everybody because everybody is different. It is not a matter of her 'chickening out' or being unprofessional. She showed good judgement. One day, the Olympics will be a thing of the past for her (like all Olympiads) and being safe and not breaking your back or neck during a landing/fall is more important than a piece of metal hung around your neck. GOAT with nothig to prove.

[stevedupree]

pretty impressive, most people would just land on their skulls

[Kaeoooo]

I have to create a whole presentation on her for Physics class and I practically have like 1/4 of my information from this video alone....so...THANK YOU.

[jackroark]

how do you expect us to read and keep our eyes on simone at the same time?

[wawahamdan]

Even while lying on my bed I am actually capable of hurting myself. I feel worthless hahaahahahhaha

[LLMBC]

2016
Scientists: "There's plenty of room for unprecedented, gravity-defying spectacle".
2019
Simone: Watch me.

[julielacy]

It's as if her tiny body is perfectly tuned to the earth's gravitational force-which she must have figured out long ago. Using rather than defying gravity. Tremendous.

[thelaurels]

The most impressive part of her routine is her landing. She lands with perfection. What a phenomenal athlete. 👏🏽

[jdfireworksjd]

Simone Biles: Proving Newton wrong since 2016

[rplittle]

Color has no place here. This young woman has achieved so much in her short years. Simone Biles is absolutely spectacular, and has EARNED Gold.

For all you people making racist comments, I have 2 words "Small Minds".

[mariasutherland]

Everyone was created for a special purpose, I can see Simone Biles a great example to that fact!Continue to show the world your expertise!🙏🏾💫🖤💫

[Gmez]

I fell down the stairs doing a roley-poley because I was rushing when I heard the pizza at the door

[katrinastubbs]

No explanation needed, it is a "GIFT" from God. She is the GREATEST of all times