Artistic Gymnastics

Facts

Discipline of Gymnastics
Participants 4187
NOCs 99
Competitions held 331 (Venues)
Distinct events 94

Description

Gymnastics is an ancient sport, having been practiced in various forms in Ancient Greece and Rome. However, gymnastics competitions are relatively modern. The modern development of gymnastics began in the mid-19th century in Europe. Gymnastics societies were formed in Germany (Turnvereine) and Bohemia, of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Sokols). Similar societies were formed in France and Switzerland, and then spread generally throughout Europe.

The sport is governed worldwide by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which was founded on 23 July 1881, in Liège, with three founding members: Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. It was originally called the Bureau des Fédérations Européennes de Gymnastique (FEG), and re-named to FIG in 1921. As of 2022, the organization has 156 member federations.

Modern competitive gymnastics has developed from two systems – the German Turnverein system, emphasizing apparatus work of a formal nature and stressing muscular development, and the Swedish system of free exercises, concerned with developing rhythmic movements.

Gymnastics has been contested at every Olympic Games. The program has varied widely, but it has been fairly constant since World War II. Nowadays, men first compete in a qualification on six apparatuses – still rings, floor exercises, horizontal bar, parallel bars, pommelled horse, and horse vault. The top competitors in the qualification are eligible for the individual all-around event (maximum of three per nation). The top teams in the qualification also advance to the team all-around event. The top performers in each apparatus in qualifying are then advanced to the individual apparatus finals, now with a maximum of two performers from any nation per event. Women’s competition is similar, except that they compete in only four events – uneven bars, floor exercises, horse vault, and balance beam.

In 1984, rhythmic gymnastics for women was added to the Olympic Program. Trampoline events for men and women were added to the gymnastics program at Sydney 2000. With these new disciplines of gymnastics being contested at the Olympics, the traditional form is now formally termed artistic gymnastics, to distinguish it from the three disciplines together.

At the Olympics, the Soviet Union and its successor republics have been dominant in the women’s events. Romania has also had superb female gymnasts, notably the remarkable Nadia Comăneci. Men’s gymnastics has been divided almost evenly since World War II by the Japanese and Soviet Union. Adding men’s and women’s event, the Soviet Union still leads the count, with 182 medals and 72 golds, followed by the United States (123 medals and 40 golds), and Japan (103 medals and 33 golds).

Because the gymnasts may compete in so many events, many athletes have won multiple Olympic medals. On the men’s side, the gold medal count is led by Japanese Sawao Kato, with eight golds, followed by Nikolay Andrianov, Boris Shakhlin, and Viktor Chukarin, all with seven golds while representing Soviet Union and one other nation (Russia or Ukraine). The overall medal count is led by Andrianov, with a total of 15 medals, followed by Shakhlin and Japanese Takashi Ono, both with 13 medals. In the women’s competition, Larisa Latynina leads the table, with 18 medals and nine golds while representing the Soviet Union and Ukraine, followed by Věra Čáslavská, with 11 medals and seven golds while representing Czechoslovakia. Polina Astakhova (URS) and Ágnes Keleti (HUN) have both won 10 medals.

All-time medal table

Olympic Games

NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total
Soviet Union URS 72 67 43 182
United States USA 40 45 38 123
Japan JPN 33 34 36 103
People's Republic of China CHN 29 21 19 69
Romania ROU 25 20 26 71
Switzerland SUI 15 19 13 47
Germany GER 15 13 15 43
Hungary HUN 15 11 14 40
Italy ITA 14 6 9 29
Czechoslovakia TCH 12 13 10 35
Russian Federation RUS 10 15 19 44
Unified Team EUN 9 5 4 18
Finland FIN 8 5 12 25
East Germany GDR 6 13 17 36
Ukraine UKR 5 3 4 12
Greece GRE 5 3 3 11
Yugoslavia YUG 5 2 4 11
Sweden SWE 5 2 1 8
France FRA 3 10 9 22
Great Britain GBR 3 3 10 16
Democratic People's Republic of Korea PRK 3 0 0 3
Netherlands NED 3 0 0 3
Republic of Korea KOR 2 4 5 11
Brazil BRA 2 3 1 6
Bulgaria BUL 2 2 6 10
ROC ROC 2 2 4 8
Spain ESP 2 2 1 5
Denmark DEN 1 2 1 4
Norway NOR 1 2 1 4
Poland POL 1 1 2 4
Belgium BEL 1 1 1 3
Latvia LAT 1 1 0 2
Canada CAN 1 0 0 1
Israel ISR 1 0 0 1
Croatia CRO 0 2 0 2
Chinese Taipei TPE 0 1 0 1
Belarus BLR 0 0 4 4
Armenia ARM 0 0 1 1
Türkiye TUR 0 0 1 1
Uzbekistan UZB 0 0 1 1
West Germany FRG 0 0 1 1

Intercalated Games

NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total
France FRA 2 0 2 4
Greece GRE 1 0 1 2
Norway NOR 1 0 0 1
Italy ITA 0 2 1 3
Denmark DEN 0 1 0 1
Hungary HUN 0 1 0 1

Youth Olympic Games

NOC Gold Silver Bronze Total
Russian Federation RUS 9 5 5 19
Japan JPN 7 2 1 10
People's Republic of China CHN 6 5 6 17
Great Britain GBR 4 4 6 14
Italy ITA 3 3 3 9
Ukraine UKR 2 4 3 9
Brazil BRA 1 3 1 5
Romania ROU 1 2 0 3
United States USA 1 0 1 2
Cuba CUB 1 0 0 1
Mongolia MGL 1 0 0 1
Hungary HUN 0 3 1 4
Spain ESP 0 2 2 4
Canada CAN 0 1 1 2
Belgium BEL 0 1 0 1
Türkiye TUR 0 1 0 1
Australia AUS 0 0 1 1
Islamic Republic of Iran IRI 0 0 1 1
Norway NOR 0 0 1 1
Republic of Korea KOR 0 0 1 1
Sweden SWE 0 0 1 1
Uzbekistan UZB 0 0 1 1

Forerunners To The Olympic Games

Most successful competitors

Olympic Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total
Larisa Latynina URS
UKR
9 5 4 18
Sawao Kato JPN 8 3 1 12
Nikolay Andrianov RUS
URS
7 5 3 15
Boris Shakhlin URS
UKR
7 4 2 13
Věra Čáslavská CZE
TCH
7 4 0 11
Viktor Chukarin URS
UKR
7 3 1 11
Akinori Nakayama JPN 6 2 2 10
Vitali Shcherba BLR
EUN
6 0 4 10
Takashi Ono JPN 5 4 4 13
Ágnes Keleti HUN 5 3 2 10

Intercalated Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total
Pierre Payssé FRA 2 0 0 2
Oskar Bye NOR 1 0 0 1
Harald Halvorsen NOR 1 0 0 1
Peter Hol NOR 1 0 0 1
Eugen Ingebretsen NOR 1 0 0 1
Per Jespersen NOR 1 0 0 1
Frithjof Olsen NOR 1 0 0 1
Carl Alfred Pedersen NOR 1 0 0 1
Carl Albert Andersen NOR 1 0 0 1
Conrad Carlsrud NOR 1 0 0 1
Harald Eriksen NOR 1 0 0 1
Osvald Falch NOR 1 0 0 1
Kristian Fjerdingen NOR 1 0 0 1
Yngvar Fredriksen NOR 1 0 0 1
Andreas Hagelund NOR 1 0 0 1
Karl Haagensen NOR 1 0 0 1
Finn Münster NOR 1 0 0 1
Thorleif Petersen NOR 1 0 0 1
Rasmus Petersen NOR 1 0 0 1
Thorleiv Røhn NOR 1 0 0 1
Johan Stumpf NOR 1 0 0 1
Georgios Aliprantis GRE 1 0 0 1

Youth Olympic Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total
Takeru Kitazono JPN 5 0 0 5
Nikita Nagorny ROC
RUS
3 1 1 5
Giorgia Villa ITA 3 1 0 4
Giarnni Regini-Moran GBR 3 0 2 5
Viktoriya Komova RUS 3 0 1 4
Oleq Stepko AZE
UKR
2 2 0 4
Tan Sixin CHN 2 2 0 4
Seda Tutkhalyan RUS 2 1 0 3
Wang Yan CHN 2 0 1 3
Flávia Saraiva BRA 1 2 0 3

Forerunners To The Olympic Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total

Event types

Name Gender Still contested? Times held?
Individual All-Around Men 30
Team All-Around Men 29
Floor Exercise Men 21
Horse Vault Men 28
Parallel Bars Men 28
Horizontal Bar Men 27
Rings Men 25
Pommelled Horse Men 24
Individual All-Around Women 18
Team All-Around Women 21
Floor Exercise Women 18
Horse Vault Women 18
Uneven Bars Women 18
Balance Beam Women 18
Individual All-Around Boys 3
Floor Exercise Boys 3
Vault Boys 3
Parallel Bars Boys 3
Horizontal Bar Boys 3
Rings Boys 3
Pommelled Horse Boys 3
Individual All-Around Girls 3
Floor Exercise Girls 3
Vault Girls 3
Uneven Bars Girls 3
Balance Beam Girls 3
Individual All-Around, Field Sports Men 1
Individual All-Around, 4 Events Men 1
Individual All-Around, 5 Events Men 1
Individual All-Around, Apparatus Work Men 1
Team All-Around, Free System Men 2
Team All-Around, Swedish System Men 2
Parallel Bars, Teams Men 1
Horizontal Bar, Teams Men 1
Rope Climbing Men 8
Pole Climbing Men 4
Pole Climbing, Inclined Pole Men 1
Club Swinging Men 2
Tumbling Men 1
Pole Climbing, Greasy Pole Men 1
Side Horse Men 3
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Simultaneous, Excellence Division Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Simultaneous, Superior Division Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Simultaneous, First Division Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Simultaneous, Second Division Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Simultaneous, Third Division Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Excellence Division Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Superior Division Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, First Division Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Second Division Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Third Division Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Special Contest, Handsfree, Group 1 Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Special Contest, Handsfree, Group A Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Apparatus, Group 1 Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Boxing, Group 1 Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Canne, Group 1 Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Fencing, Group 1 Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Military Exercises Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Pyramids without Apparatus, Group 1 Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Pyramids with Apparatus, Group 1 Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Ballet Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Tournament Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Statue Poses Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Special Event Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Racing Contest Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, National Championships Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Olympic Championships, Individual Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Shooting Championships, Youth Men 1
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Shooting Championships, Honorary Members and Associates Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Instructors Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Advanced Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Swimming, Team Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Swimming, Individual Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Gymnastics Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Alternative Contest Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Simultaneous Contest Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Racing Contest Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Handsfree Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Apparatus Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Wrestling Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Boxing Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Pyramids without Apparatus Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Pyramids with Apparatus Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Individual Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Artistic, Individual Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Olympic Competition, Individual Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Gymnastics, Team Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Simultaneous Contest (#2) Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Race Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Individual (#2) Men 1
Festival for Societies of the Seine, Swimming, students, individuals, societies Men 1
Team Portable Apparatus Women 2
26th Federal Festival, Society and Association Contests, Non-Simultaneous, Shooting Championships, Honorary Members and Associates Women 1
Swedish Gymnastics Open 2