Against the Grain II
Has it really come to this with Simone Biles
Arguably the most dominant gymnast and one of the most dominant athletes of all times is now the victim of the judges apparently changing the rules. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) updated their ranking system to account for Biles’ increasingly difficult moves by downgrading her second signature move, dubbed the “Biles II.” The move which literally no other athlete can execute because of its difficulty has been riddled with a lower than excellent ranking, according to the ruling body of world gymnastics.
Apparently spending hours conditioning, training and practicing holds no value to the FIG.
Biles is essentially being penalized for doing what no other gymnast can. That is the goal of competition; isn’t it … to leave no doubt that you are the absolute best?
After a record-setting world championship in 2019 where she swept every medal attainable, the first time that has ever been done, apparently some “soccer moms and dads” got to the officials. World gymnastics is now being treated like Pee Wee football where everyone gets a trophy.
Biles, is being penalized in an effort by the federation to deter athletes who cannot perform the moves from trying to do so. They never stopped Usain Bolt from running so fast because other runners might pull a muscle or their hearts might explode trying to catch up to him. They haven’t stopped Tom Brady from winning Super Bowls because the other players might get concussions if they’d to win that many. You haven’t seen them stop Lebron James from his creative dunks because other players might get hurt if they tried it.
It’s time for the FIG to embrace the once-in-a-lifetime athlete that Biles is. The personable 4-foot-8 mini-gymnast is only small until gymnastic competition begins. At that point, she’s a titan in leotards. Her ferocity, her execution, her practice regimen, her physical training and her focus on pushing herself to the limits makes her an absolute marvel to watch.
Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and the dominating UCLA team faced the same type of regulation to hamper greatness as a member of John Wooden’s undefeated Bruins. Citing the fear of breaking the goals, the NCAA banned slam dunks. Abdul-Jabbar would evolve his once fierce attacking of the rim, to a graceful one-handed high-point jumper, known as the “sky hook.”
With the growing popularity of the ABA and the creative slam dunkers, the NCAA was forced to reinstate dunking. Today, even small guards can elevate to bring crowds to their feet with aerobatic slam dunks.
Biles is at the peak of her career. Already suffering the certain loss of gold medals with the delaying of the 2020 Olympics due to the pandemic, Biles is not resting on her laurels. She continues to perform at the highest level, and in between throwing out first pitches at baseball games, she spends her time working, creating and executing. Hopefully, the FIG will re-evaluate and find another way to deter less gifted athletes from emulating Biles’ spectacular moves because we can’t wait to see the “Biles III.”
