"You don't want it to look like a struggle" - Nastia Liukin shares what makes Simone Biles' routines stand apart from the rest in history

By Anirudh

Modified Jul 16, 2024 14:00 GMT

Former American gymnast Nastia Liukin heaped praise on compatriot Simone Biles, stating that it was the difficulty of her routines and not just her achievements that made her one of the greatest athletes in the sport.

Biles is one of the most decorated gymnasts of all time, having won 37 Olympic and World Championship medals so far. She is the ninth-most decorated female Olympic gymnast (nine Olympic medals).

In a recent interview, Liukin, a five-time Olympic medalist, explained how Biles accomplishes even the most difficult of tasks with ease.

"The thing that sets her apart from so many others is... it's not only the level of difficulty because of the skills that she does and the skills that are named after her and even more. It's also the way she performs them, it's done with such ease. And that's the point of when you're an athlete, a gymnast, I guess you want to make it look easy. You don't want it look like a struggle," she said. (via USA Today)

"And I think that's what to an extent you are judged on as well. But she makes it look so easy that it's like 'oh anybody could do that' and it's the complete opposite. In fact, nobody in the world can do it. And not only can nobody not do it, but do it do well," she added.

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Nastia Liukin: "To be on the top the way Simone Biles is, it's really hard"

Simone Biles has won 37 world and Olympic medals.

Nastia Liukin is a five-time Olympic medalist, a three-time world champion, and a four-time all-around US national champion. Having been at the top of the sport during her professional career, she expressed admiration for how effortless Simone Biles makes her routines look.

"Her vault, nobody in the world does [it], but the power that she can get from that table, she gets so high in the air, she's so fashionable and she's so quick. And her landing, that should be a struggle. And it is a struggle, not only for anyone to perform but also successfully perform it," she opined.

The 34-year-old said that gymnastics was not just a physically demanding sport but also one that was mentally strenuous. For Biles to have not only a long career but also a successful one was another indication of her greatness.

"That's what's really is that different from her to everybody else. It's from the good to the great. That's what she does so well. And a sport like gymnastics, it's very very difficult and hard on your body. And so to continue to not just do it but to be on the top the way she is, it's really really hard, not just physically but also mentally," she added.

Biles will be hoping to add to her medal tally at the upcoming Paris Olympics. She is joined by Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and 16-year-old rising star Hezly Rivera in Team USA's gymnastics squad.