Yurchenko Double Pike

The Yurchenko double pike is a high-difficulty gymnastics vault performed on the vaulting table. The skill begins with a round-off onto the springboard, a back handspring onto the vault, and concludes with two backward saltos in a pike position before landing.

American gymnast Simone Biles famously debuted the Yurchenko double pike in elite international competition at the 2021 U.S. Classic. Because she was the first woman to perform it, the skill was subsequently named the "Biles II" in the women's gymnastics Code of Points.

The vault places extreme physical stress on the gymnast's neck and spine during the blind backward landing phase. Because the athlete cannot see the ground until the very last moment due to the piked body position, the margin for error on the landing is razor-thin.

In the women's gymnastics code of points, the Yurchenko double pike has historically been assigned a massive 6.0 difficulty value. This incredibly high rating reflects the intense power, aerial awareness, and physical risk required to execute two flips off the vaulting table.