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Utah gymnast MyKayla Skinner performs her first floor pass so gracefully, most fans might be unaware how difficult the trick, known as a double-double, is.

But teammate Kari Lee can offer some insight into how tough Skinner's pass is to pull off. To perform the trick, Skinner must get a lot of height as she pushes off the floor, then perform two twists while simultaneously performing two back flips.

"It's completely unreal," Lee said. "You don't realize how hard it is until you try it. You have to have so much body awareness and height, then land it right, that is the hardest part. It's just hard."

Skinner, in her first season at Utah after making the 2016 U.S. Olympic team as an alternate, is the only gymnast known to be performing the trick at the NCAA level.

What makes Skinner's pass even more impressive is she doesn't need to use her arms to help her, Utah coach Tom Farden said.

"The amount of lift to get off the floor and core strength she has is incredible," he said. "Others grab their legs to aid in the battle by fighting the force, but she just does the trick. It's one of the hardest tricks in the world."

Skinner, who was named the Pac-12's gymnast of the week four times in the season's opening month, has been performing the routine since she was 13-years-old. While others marvel at the trick, it came easy for her, she said.

"For me, it's like a full-in or something like that," she said. "The key is you just have to commit the whole way and have the amplitude to get high enough. If you don't get that punch off the floor, you aren't going to go anywhere."

Normally difficult tricks such as Skinner's come with a risk of inconsistency. But what is remarkable about Skinner is Farden can't remember her ever missing it. She is ranked third on the floor nationally with a 9.94 average.

"Right now I would classify that she owns it," he said. "She does it with ease. It doesn't matter if her legs are tired or not, she hits it."

Adding to the impressiveness of the routine is Skinner has plenty of other difficulty in it, giving her arguably the most difficult floor routine in the country.

"She ends with a full-in and that is what most people start with," Farden said. "No doubt people are seeing world class gymnastics out there."

The one difference Skinner has now in performing the double-double is she is doing it every week, rather than training for meets that are months apart like she did at the elite level.

The long season can be grueling to the point gymnasts start to wear down and consistency becomes an issue. That might be a concern with someone like Skinner, who didn't join the Utes until October because she was busy touring and performing with the Olympic team.

However, Skinner said she is still feeling good.

"I was talking with my sister the other day and told her we just had our fourth meet, that is the most we would have a year," she said. "It's not even halfway yet, but I am having more fun and this is more enjoyable than it has been. I love competing." —

The double-double, explained

Skinner's first pass on floor exercise is called the 'double-double' because once she pushes off the floor and gets airborne, she performs two twists while simultaneously performing two back flips. Nobody else at the NCAA level is doing this. Other gymnasts — including teammates MaKenna Merrell and Tiffani Lewis — perform an also-difficult one twist with two flips, but on one is able to produce the amplitude and velocity needed to complete two of each.

No. 4 Utah at No. 11 Oregon State

P at Corvallis, Ore., Saturday, 3 p.m.

TV • Pac-12 Network