Event
Balance beam

Skill type
Turn

Value
E

Known as
Okino
Triple turn
Triple spin

Named after
Betty Okino (USA) – 1991

About
The triple turn on beam entered the code of points in 1991 when Betty Okino successfully performed it at the world championship event final in Indianapolis. Okino had gone for the safer double turn in the team and all-around competitions but brought out the triple turn for the apparatus final, keeping it on the beam with a well-finessed leg-up balance check en route to a bronze medal.

The triple turn’s E (0.5) rating is tied for the most difficult value for any beam turn, and its sheer difficulty and risk has always made it a highly exclusive skill. Very few can perform the double turn on beam consistently enough to use it, let alone the triple. Even the legendary Sanne Wevers, often regarded as the best turner ever to grace the beam, typically ditched the triple turn from her composition unless she really needed to pull out all the stops to win the Olympics.

Value
E