Simone Biles in gold-medal form after landing Yurchenko

Although she still has to deliver in front of judges, Simone Biles signaled her return to gold medal-quality form Friday by twice successfully landing her one-of-a-kind Yurchenko double pike vault during practice for Saturday’s USA Gymnastics Classic meet in Indianapolis.

Biles, 24, has not competed since winning her fifth world all-around championship in the fall of 2019. Her appearance Saturday will be the first step in her quest to qualify for her second Olympics in July.

The Yurchenko double pike starts with a somersault with a half-turn onto a springboard, followed by a back handspring onto the diving table and two revolutions in the air in pike position, with knees straight and the body bent at the waist.

Coach Laurent Landi was poised beside the vault runway in case Biles stumbled upon landing, but no help was needed.

The four-time 2016 Olympics gold medalist stands only 4 feet 8 but generates tremendous height off the 4-foot-high vaulting table. Her feet appeared to be more than 10 feet off the floor at the height of her first of two revolutions off the table.

Even from that height, she very nearly stuck the landing Friday morning, with only a step backward with her right foot and she landed facing the vaulting table.

After landing a move that no one has ever accomplished in competition, she matter-of-factly discussed form adjustments with Landi as she walked off the mat.

“I was really nervous chalking up,” Biles said during a conference call after the morning practice session. “I kept saying, ‘It’s OK. I’ve been doing this so many times.’

“I’ve been doing it for months now, so I felt prepared and knew I was prepared. It was just the initial landing out there in the arena. But once I did it, I felt a lot better.”

Biles will perform during the evening session of the U.S. Classic, which is USA Gymnastics’ first meet since 2019. More than 40 senior women are competing at the event, beginning with a noon CT session and a 6 p.m. CT session that will air on NBC Sports Network.

Biles will be joined by five teammates from the family-owned World Champions Centre in south Montgomery County — Sydney Barros, Jordan Chiles, Amari Drayton, Karis German and Zoe Miller. All except Drayton moved from elsewhere to Spring to train alongside Biles under coaches Cecile and Laurent Landi, who became Biles’ coach in 2017.

“For so many years I’ve been by myself,” Biles said. “And now to have (teammates), it’s like we really are a team. We have that camaraderie. We cheer each other on.”

Biles’ enthusiasm for a return to competition is at notable odds with her continued attitude toward USA Gymnastics, the bankrupt national governing body that continues to face criticism for its faltering efforts to recover from the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal that affected Biles and dozens of other gymnasts.

“As far as representing the U.S., it’s a huge honor and I’m always glad to do it,” she said. “USAG is a little bit tough for everything we’ve been through, but I never think about that when we come onto the competition floor. I am representing my gym, and once we go out of the country it’s USA.”

Biles has won every all-around competition she has entered since the 2013 national championships, and that string isn’t likely to be broken Saturday in Indianapolis. She plans to debut the new vault before judges and also a new floor routine choreographed by Sasha Farber, her partner on the television show “Dancing with the Stars.”

“I feel pretty confident,” she said. “We’re exactly where we need to be at this time of year.

Other notable competitors Saturday include 2008 Olympian and 2005 world all-around champion Chellsie Memmel, 2017 world champion Morgan Hurd and 2019 world team gold medalists Sunisa Lee, Grace McCallum, Jade Carey and Kara Eaker.

Memmel, 32, has two children and has not competed since 2012. She remained in the sport as a judge and Friday shared practice time with some of the athletes she has judged in recent years.

“I was the first athlete here, and I took a moment to take it all in,” she said. “It’s been a long time since being in the athletes’ shoes. Everybody was very welcoming, though.”

2016 Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez, who is attempting a comeback, also will compete in the event’s morning session, as will Houston gymnast Sophia Butler, who trains at Discover Gymnastics.

The Classic is the final qualifying meet for the USA Gymnastics national championships June 3-6 in Fort Worth. The Olympic trials are in late June in St. Louis.

David Barron reported from Houston.