Panamanian gymnast Hillary Heron on Sunday became the first gymnast other than Simone Biles to pull off one of the superstar athlete’s eponymous moves at the Olympics.
Heron, 20, started her floor routine during Sunday’s qualifiers with a double back layout with a half twist, a stunt known as the Biles I.
After completing it, she beamed, as the crowd roared, and she embraced her coach emotionally. She received a score of 13.033.
“I think it’s the floor routine of my life, just so much work that has gone into that floor that many people wouldn’t believe, hours and hour and hours and trusting myself,” Heron said in an interview with Olympics.com afterward. “I couldn’t believe I had done it, and I had done it just as I imagined it when I was four years old.”
Heron described Biles as “an inspiration, not only for me, for many gymnasts,” and revealed that the legendary gymnast had offered her a compliment while she was warming up.
“She told me she loved my leo,” Heron said, noting that her leotard includes references to Panamanian dress and flowers. “Definitely that was an ego boost.”
In July, Heron became the first to perform one of Biles’ namesake skills at a major international competition when she pulled it off at the World Championships.
Biles has five moves named after her: the Biles I and II on floor, the Biles I and II vault maneuvers and the Biles beam dismount.
New moves, which must be past a certain difficulty level, are named after the first gymnast to perform them in an international competition.
The seven-time Olympic gold medalist is widely considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time. She dropped out of the Tokyo Olympics due to concerns about her mental health, but returned in full force — despite an injury — at her first Paris Olympics showing on Sunday.
