Artistic gymnastics

Artistic gymnastics is a fun and exciting part of gymnastics. Athletes perform short routines on different pieces of equipment. These routines show their strength, flexibility, and skill.

The sport is overseen by an organization called World Gymnastics. This group creates the rules for scoring and helps run big competitions around the world. Each country also has its own group, like British Gymnastics or USA Gymnastics, to support their gymnasts.

People love to watch artistic gymnastics because it is a popular spectator sport. It is featured in many big events, including the Summer Olympic Games. The best gymnasts from many countries compete there. Athletes perform on different apparatuses, and judges use a special guide called the Code of Points to decide who does the best. This makes every routine exciting to watch.

History

Gymnastics has a long history. Ancient writers like Homer, Aristotle, and Plato wrote about it. It was used for training and included things like swimming, racing, wrestling, boxing, and horse riding. In the early 1800s, gymnastics grew in places that are now Bohemia and Germany. The term "artistic gymnastics" was made to show free-style performances, not just military training. Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, called the father of gymnastics, made equipment like the horizontal bar and parallel bars.

The International Gymnastics Federation, or FIG, began in 1881 to organize gymnastics around the world. Gymnastics became an Olympic sport in 1896, but women could not compete until later. Over time, the sport changed, with different events for men and women. Today, gymnasts of all ages can compete, with many winning medals in their 20s.

Apparatus

Both male and female gymnasts are judged for how well they do, how hard their moves are, and how they present themselves. In many competitions, gymnasts compete in a certain order that has stayed the same for many years.

For men's artistic gymnastics, the order is:

For women's artistic gymnastics, the order is:

Men and women

Vault

Main article: Vault (gymnastics)

For Olympic champions, see Vault at the Olympics.

For World champions, see World Artistic Gymnastics Championships – Men's vault and World Artistic Gymnastics Championships – Women's vault.

The vault is an event and the main piece of equipment used in that event. It is used by both men and women, with little difference. A gymnast runs down a path, which can be up to 25 meters long, before jumping onto a springboard. Using the springboard, the gymnast jumps towards the vault. The gymnast keeps their body in position while landing on the vault. They then turn their body to land on the other side of the vault. In harder gymnastics, gymnasts may add spins and flips before landing. Good vaults need speed in the run, good length in the jump, strong legs and shoulders, good kinesthetic awareness, and fast spins for more difficult vaults.

In 2004, the old vaulting horse was replaced with a new, safer piece of equipment. It is wider, longer, and more stable than the old one, so gymnasts can try harder vaults.

Floor exercise

Main article: Floor (gymnastics)

For Olympic champions, see Floor at the Olympics.

For World champions, see World Artistic Gymnastics Championships – Men's floor and World Artistic Gymnastics Championships – Women's floor.

The floor event takes place on a padded 12 m × 12 m square. This gives gymnasts extra height and a softer landing.

Men perform without music for 60 to 70 seconds and must touch each corner of the floor at least once. Their routines show flips, flexibility, strength, balance, and power. They also show skills like circles and handstands.

Women perform a 90-second routine with music. Their routines include flips, jumps, dance moves, acrobatic skills, and turns. Top gymnasts may do up to four flips.

Men only

Pommel horse

Main article: Pommel horse

For Olympic champions, see Pommel horse at the Olympics.

For World champions, see World Artistic Gymnastics Championships – Men's pommel horse.

A pommel horse routine includes skills with one leg and two legs. With one leg, gymnasts often do "scissors". With two legs, they swing both legs in a circle. To make it harder, they may turn or spread their legs. Routines end with a dismount, either swinging over the horse or landing after a handstand.

Still rings

Main article: Rings (gymnastics)

For Olympic champions, see Rings at the Olympics.

For World champions, see World Artistic Gymnastics Championships – Men's rings.

The still rings hang from a wire cable 5.8 meters above the floor. Gymnasts must show balance, strength, power, and movement while keeping the rings still. They must include at least one strong hold, but some do more.

Parallel bars

Main article: Parallel bars

For Olympic champions, see Parallel bars at the Olympics.

For World champions, see World Artistic Gymnastics Championships – Men's parallel bars.

The parallel bars are two bars about shoulder-width apart and 1.75 meters high. Gymnasts do swings, balancing moves, and releases that need strength and coordination.

Horizontal bar

Main article: Horizontal bar

For Olympic champions, see Horizontal bar at the Olympics.

For World champions, see World Artistic Gymnastics Championships – Men's horizontal bar.

The horizontal bar is a steel bar 2.5 meters above the ground. Gymnasts do swings, releases, twists, and changes in direction. They use leather grips to help hold the bar.

Women only

Uneven bars

Main article: Uneven bars

For Olympic champions, see Uneven bars at the Olympics.

For World champions, see World Artistic Gymnastics Championships – Women's uneven bars.

The uneven bars have two bars at different heights. Gymnasts do swings, turns, moves between the bars, and releases.

Higher-level gymnasts often wear leather grips to hold the bars well and protect their hands. They may wet their grips with water or use chalk to keep them from slipping.

Balance beam

Main article: Balance beam

For Olympic champions, see Balance beam at the Olympics.

For World champions, see World Artistic Gymnastics Championships – Women's balance beam.

The balance beam has been part of gymnastics since the 1880s. By the 1920s, it was raised higher.

Gymnasts perform routines of 70 to 90 seconds on a padded beam. The beam must be 125 cm high, 500 cm long, and 10 cm wide. The event needs balance, flexibility, and strength.

Competition format

In big competitions like the Olympics and World Championships, meets are split into several sessions on different days: qualifications, team finals, all-around finals, and event finals.

During the qualification round, gymnasts compete with their national team in all events. These scores help decide which teams move on to the team finals and which individual gymnasts advance to the all-around and event finals. For the 2020 Olympics, teams had four gymnasts, with up to two extra gymnasts per country allowed to compete individually. In team finals, gymnasts compete on all events, and the scores determine the medalists. In the all-around finals, individual gymnasts compete in all events, and their totals decide the all-around medals. In event finals, the top gymnasts in each event compete for medals.

Competitions outside the Olympics and World Championships can use different formats. For example, the 2007 Pan American Games had a different team competition format, and some meets, like those on the World Cup circuit, do not include a team event.

Major competitions

Artistic gymnastics is popular at the Olympic Games, which happen every four years. Countries send teams based on how they did in the World Championships. Sometimes, countries can send one or two individual gymnasts.

There are also World Championships where gymnasts from all over the world compete. This competition changes each year, sometimes having team finals, all-around finals, and event finals. Since 2019, there have been Junior World Championships held every two years. Other big events include the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup, the World Challenge Cup Series, and the Goodwill Games.

Dominant teams and nations

USSR and post-Soviet republics

Before the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991, its gymnasts were very good at both men's and women's gymnastics. They began winning when women's gymnastics joined the Olympics in 1952. Famous gymnasts from the Soviet Union include Viktor Chukarin, Vitaly Scherbo, Larisa Latynina, and Svetlana Boginskaya. From 1952 to 1992, the Soviet women's team won almost every team title in World Championship and Olympic events, except for a few.

After the Soviet Union split up, gymnasts from those countries competed together one last time at the 1992 Summer Olympics as the Unified Team, and they won both the men's and women's team competitions. Russia has kept winning medals in almost every World and Olympic competition. Ukraine and Belarus have also had strong teams at times.

Romania

The Romanian team became very successful starting at the 1976 Summer Olympics with Nadia Comăneci, who was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 in Olympic competition. They used a special training system and stayed strong for many years. Romania won many team medals at the Olympics and World Championships, including gold medals in 1984, 2000, and 2004.

Recently, Romania has not been as successful. They did not qualify for the team final at the 2015 World Championships and sometimes struggled to send full teams to the Olympics. But they still have talented individual gymnasts.

United States

The United States was not always a top country in gymnastics, but that changed in the late 1980s. Coaches from other countries, especially from the Eastern Bloc, helped improve training. At the 1984 Olympics, the American men won gold, and the women's team won silver. Mary Lou Retton became the first American Olympic all-around champion.

Since then, the U.S. women's team has become very strong. They won team gold at the 1996 Olympics, 2003 Worlds, 2004 Olympics, 2012 Olympics, and 2016 Olympics. American women have also won the last six Olympic all-around titles. The men's team has also won medals at recent Olympics and World Championships.

China

China has had strong men's and women's gymnastics programs for the past 25 years. The Chinese men won team gold at several Olympics and World Championships. They have had great gymnasts like Li Xiaoshuang and Yang Wei. The Chinese women's team has also won gold at the World Championships and Olympics, with stars like Ma Yanhong, Lu Li, and Liu Xuan.

Japan

The Japanese men's team was very successful in the 1960s and 1970s, winning every Olympic team title from 1960 through 1976. Gymnasts like Sawao Katō and Yukio Endō were famous during this time. More recently, Kōhei Uchimura has been one of the best all-around gymnasts ever.

The women have not been as successful, but there have been standout gymnasts like Keiko Tanaka-Ikeda and Mai Murakami.

Germany

Before Germany reunited, East Germany had a very successful gymnastics program, winning many medals at the World Championships and Olympics. After reunification, Germany has had some medal-winning gymnasts like Fabian Hambüchen and Elizabeth Seitz.

Czechoslovakia

The Czechoslovak women's team was a big rival to the Soviet team for many years. They won many medals and had stars like Vlasta Děkanová and Věra Čáslavská. The men also had success before World War II.

Hungary

Hungary has had successful gymnasts like Ágnes Keleti and Henrietta Ónodi. The men have also had champions like Zoltán Magyar and Szilveszter Csollány.

Other nations

Many other countries have become strong in gymnastics in recent years, including Australia, Brazil, Great Britain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and South Korea. Individual gymnasts from several other countries have also done well in major competitions.

Health consequences

Gymnastics can be tough on both the body and mind. Gymnasts can sometimes get injuries, especially to their back, when they train or compete. The need to do perfect moves can make gymnasts feel worried or stressed.

It’s important for everyone in gymnastics to work on safety and help each other stay healthy, both with our bodies and in our minds. In big competitions, athletes like Simone Biles have talked about why it’s important to look after our mental health just as much as our physical health.

Controversies and abuse

Some gymnasts have had very hard times, especially when they were growing up. It can be tough for their bodies to stay very thin.

Sadly, some coaches and grown-ups in gymnastics have hurt young athletes. Many brave gymnasts from different countries have spoken about the unfair treatment they received. This has helped make important changes to keep athletes safe and healthy.