Artistic Gymnastics

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. As of 2018 the organization it has 146 member federations. Originally called the Bureau des fédérations européennes de gymnastique (FEG), it was re-named the FIG in 1921.

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 since World War II it has been fairly constant. Men compete in teams on six apparatuses – still rings, floor exercises, horizontal bar, parallel bars, pommelled horse, and horse vault. The top competitors in the team event are eligible for the individual all-around event (maximum of three per nation). This is conducted again on all six apparatuses. The top performers in each apparatus 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 parallel 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 in 2000. With these new disciplines of gymnastics being contested at the Olympics, the traditional form is sometimes known as 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. The Chinese men and women are also now of top caliber. Because the gymnasts may compete in several events, 13 Olympic gymnasts have won 10 or more Olympic medals, led by Larysa Latynina (18), Nikolay Andrianov (15), and Borys Shakhlin and Takashi Ono with 13. Latynina leads Olympic gymnasts with nine gold medals, while among men, Sawao Kato has won the most gold medals with eight.