The physics behind Simone Biles’ perfect technique

When American gymnastics star Simone Biles launches into somersaults that seem to defy gravity, there’s more than just raw power at play.

Her secret lies in an extraordinary mastery of the physics behind every bounce.

While the sprung floors and vaults of gymnastics events provide a bouncy, propulsive surface, making full use of that rebound requires incredible neuromuscular control and precise timing from the athletes.

It’s not just about muscular strength. Gymnasts have to perfectly tune the stiffness of their spring-like legs on landing.

To do this, they activate their muscles in very specific patterns to essentially turn their legs into optimised “springs” for whichever apparatus they’re working on – it will differ from floor to beam, to vault.

But that’s only half the battle. The gymnasts must also harness that loaded muscular tension and release it at the precise millisecond to generate maximum push-off force from the floor, vault or beam. It’s like knowing exactly when to push on a swing to send it soaring highest.

Simone Biles of the US practices on the balance beam during a training session in Paris.Credit: Getty Images

Switching on those explosive jumping muscles even a fraction early, or late, can mean the difference between a sky-high tumbling pass or crashing back down to earth.

Biles, who has rewritten the record books and is the undoubted greatest of modern gymnastics (arguably among women and men), is renowned for her mixture of power, body control, and impeccable timing of these mechanics.

Her ability to both stiffen her legs like tightly coiled springs and unleash that energy at the perfect instant allows her to soar and spin in a manner once thought impossible.

She has the complete trifecta – outstanding muscle strength, precision “tuning” of her leg stiffness, and timing so exact it defies belief. Replicating that combination may be one of the greatest challenges facing the next generation of gymnasts, and those trying to beat her in the Bercy Arena in Paris.

If you want to see some of the most powerful tumbles and jumps in the Olympics world, watch to see whether any of our Australian gymnasts can imitate Biles’s mastery to cause one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history.

As Biles seeks to etch her name atop the all-time Olympic greats in Paris, the world will once again be in awe of her physics-defying aerial feats. An appreciation of the scientific mastery behind those soaring routines only adds to the amazement.

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