Watch! A Breakdown of How Simone Biles Defies Physics

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

Less than halfway through her first Olympic games, Simone Biles is already a legend.

The 19-year-old American gymnast is not merely the top athlete on the best women’s gymnastics team in the world, defeating Russia and China in the team all-around by a wide margin on Tuesday, and winning the women’s individual all-around by a solid two points on Thursday. She is not merely better than any other female gymnasts right now. She is quite possibly the best female gymnast ever—dominating on the beam, floor and vault, and absolutely blowing everyone away when it comes to the all-around. She does more complicated tricks and has nearly flawless execution, and she already has a move named after her.

Simone Biles’ namesake trick isn’t the hardest she does, but since she debuted it at the 2013 World Championships, “the Biles” has become her signature, a staple of her floor routine. It’s a double somersault in a fully outstretched “layout” position, combined with a half-twist in midair. Layouts have been a part of gymnastics since at least the early 1900s, when they were first done by men in tumbling routines. After women got their own individual gymnastics competitions in the 1950s, they began incorporating layouts as well.

But, whether the move was performed by a male or female, the physics never seemed to make sense. When you watch someone performing a layout, they look surreal.

Watch the video below:

Source: qz.com