Artistic Gymnast
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Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of
gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the
Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique The International Gymnastics Federation (French: Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, FIG) is the body governing all disciplines of competitive gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on July 23, 1881, in ...
(FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates all aspects of elite international competition. Within individual countries, gymnastics is regulated by national federations like British Gymnastics and
USA Gymnastics United States of America Gymnastics (USA Gymnastics or USAG) is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Established in 1963 as the U.S. Gymnastics Federation (USGF), USA Gymnastics is responsible for selecting and train ...
. Artistic gymnastics is a popular
spectator sport A spectator sport is a sport that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its competitions. Spectator sports may be professional sports or amateur sports. They often are distinguished from participant sports, which are m ...
at many competitions, including the
Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
.


History

The gymnastic system was mentioned in writings by ancient authors, including
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
,
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
, and
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
. It included many disciplines that later became independent sports, such as swimming,
racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...
,
wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
,
boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
, and
horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...
. It was also used for military training. In its present form, gymnastics evolved in
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
and what is now known as Germany at the beginning of the 19th century. The term "artistic gymnastics" was introduced to distinguish freestyle performances from those used by the military. The German educator
Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (11August 177815October 1852) was a German gymnastics educator and nationalist whose writing is credited with the founding of the German gymnastics (Turner) movement as well as influencing the German Campaign of 1813, during which a coalition of ...
, who was known as the father of gymnastics, invented several apparatuses, including the
horizontal bar The horizontal bar, also known as the high bar, is an apparatus used by male gymnasts in artistic gymnastics. It traditionally consists of a cylindrical metal (typically steel) bar that is rigidly held above and parallel to the floor by a syste ...
and
parallel bars Parallel bars are floor apparatus consisting of two wooden bars slightly over long and positioned at roughly head height. Parallel bars are used in artistic gymnastics and also for physical therapy and home exercise. Gymnasts may optionally we ...
that are used to this day. Two of the first gymnastics clubs were
Turnverein Turners (german: Turner) are members of German-American gymnastic clubs called Turnvereine. They promoted German culture, physical culture, and liberal politics. Turners, especially Francis Lieber, 1798–1872, were the leading sponsors of gy ...
s and
Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a so ...
s. The FIG was founded in 1881, and it remains the governing body of international gymnastics. The organization initially included only three countries and was called the European Gymnastics Federation until 1921, when the first non-European countries joined and it was reorganized into its present form. Gymnastics was included in the
1896 Summer Olympics The 1896 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, Agónes tis 1is Ol ...
, but female gymnasts were not allowed to participate in the Olympics until 1928. The
World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The Artistic Gymnastics World Championships are the world championships for artistic gymnastics governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). The first edition of the championships was held in 1903, exclusively for male gymnas ...
, held since 1903, were only open to men until 1934. Since then, two branches of artistic gymnastics have developed: women's artistic gymnastics (WAG) and men's artistic gymnastics (MAG). Unlike men's and women's branches of many other sports, WAG and MAG differ significantly in technique and in apparatuses used at major competitions.


Women's artistic gymnastics

As a team event, women's gymnastics entered the Olympics in 1928 and the World Championships in 1950. Individual women were recognized in the all-around as early as the 1934 World Championships. The current women's program—all-around and event finals on the
vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...
,
uneven bars The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. It is made of a steel frame. The bars are made of fiberglass with wood coating, or less commonly wood. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is UB or ...
,
balance beam The balance beam is a rectangular artistic gymnastics apparatus and an event performed using the apparatus. Both the apparatus and the event are sometimes simply referred to as "beam". The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring i ...
, and
floor exercise In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The gymnastics event performed on the floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for t ...
—was introduced at the 1950 World Championships and at the
1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
. The earliest champions in women's gymnastics tended to be in their 20s, and most had studied ballet for years before entering the sport.
Larisa Latynina Larisa Semyonovna Latynina (russian: link=yes, Лариса Семёновна Латынина, née Diriy, Дирий; born 27 December 1934) is a former Soviet artistic gymnast. Between 1956 and 1964 she won 14 individual Olympic medals and ...
, the first great Soviet gymnast, won her first Olympic all-around medal at age 22 and her second at 26; she became world champion in 1958 while pregnant.
Věra Čáslavská en, the love of Tokyo ja, 「オリンピックの名花」 en, darling of the Olympic Games , country = Czechoslovakia , formercountry = , birth_date = , birth_place = Prague, Czechoslovakia ( occupied by Germany 1939– ...
of Czechoslovakia, who followed Latynina and became a two-time Olympic all-around champion, was 22 when she won her first Olympic gold medal. In the 1970s, the average age of Olympic gymnasts began to decrease. While it was not unheard of for teenagers to compete in the 1960s -
Ludmilla Tourischeva Ludmilla Ivanovna Tourischeva ( Russian: Людми́ла Ива́новна Тури́щева; also transliterated as Ludmilla Turischeva, Ludmilla Tourischcheva, and Ljudmila Turichtchieva, born 7 October 1952) is a former Russian gymnast, Ukr ...
was 16 at her first Olympics in 1968 - younger female gymnasts slowly became the norm as the sport's difficulty increased. Smaller, lighter girls generally excelled in the more challenging acrobatic elements required by the redesigned Code of Points. The 58th Congress of the FIG — held in July 1980, just before the Olympics — decided to raise the minimum age for senior international competition from 14 to 15. However, the change, which came into effect two years later, did not eliminate the problem. By the time of the
1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
, elite gymnasts consisted almost exclusively of "pixies" — underweight young teenagers — and concerns were raised about athletes' welfare. In 1997, the FIG responded to this trend by raising the minimum age for international elite competition to 16. This, combined with changes in the Code of Points and evolving popular opinion in the sport, led to the return of older gymnasts. While the average elite female gymnast is still in her mid to late teens, and below-average height and weight, it is now common to see gymnasts competing well into their 20s. At the
2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
, both the second-place American team and the third-place Russians were captained by women in their mid-20s; several other teams, including those from Australia, France, and Canada, included older gymnasts as well. At the 2008 Olympics, the silver medalist on vault,
Oksana Chusovitina Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina (russian: Оксана Александровна Чусовитина; born 19 June 1975) is an eight-time Olympic gymnast who has competed for the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan, and Germany. Chusovitina's care ...
, was a 33-year-old mother.


Apparatus

Both male and female gymnasts are judged for execution,
degree of difficulty Degree of difficulty (DD, sometimes called tariff or grade) is a concept used in several sports and other competitions to indicate the technical difficulty of a skill, performance, or course, often as a factor in scoring. Sports which incorporate ...
, and overall presentation. In many competitions, especially high-level ones sanctioned by the FIG, gymnasts compete in "
Olympic order The Olympic Order, established in 1975, is the highest award of the Olympic Movement. It is awarded for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, i.e. recognition of efforts worthy of merit in the cause of sport. Traditi ...
", which has changed over time but has stayed consistent for at least a few decades. For male gymnasts, the Olympic order is: :1)
Floor exercise In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The gymnastics event performed on the floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for t ...
:2)
Pommel horse The pommel horse is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. Traditionally, it is used by only male gymnasts. Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, the modern pommel horse has a metal body covered with foam rubber and ...
:3)
Still rings The rings, also known as still rings (in contrast to flying rings), is an artistic gymnastics apparatus and the event that uses it. It is traditionally used only by male gymnasts, due to its extreme upper body strength requirements. Gymnasts oft ...
:4)
Vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...
:5)
Parallel bars Parallel bars are floor apparatus consisting of two wooden bars slightly over long and positioned at roughly head height. Parallel bars are used in artistic gymnastics and also for physical therapy and home exercise. Gymnasts may optionally we ...
:6)
Horizontal bar The horizontal bar, also known as the high bar, is an apparatus used by male gymnasts in artistic gymnastics. It traditionally consists of a cylindrical metal (typically steel) bar that is rigidly held above and parallel to the floor by a syste ...
For female gymnasts, the Olympic order is: :1)
Vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosure ...
:2)
Uneven bars The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. It is made of a steel frame. The bars are made of fiberglass with wood coating, or less commonly wood. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is UB or ...
:3)
Balance beam The balance beam is a rectangular artistic gymnastics apparatus and an event performed using the apparatus. Both the apparatus and the event are sometimes simply referred to as "beam". The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring i ...
:4)
Floor exercise In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The gymnastics event performed on the floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for t ...


Men and women


Vault

The vault is both an event and the primary piece of equipment used in that event. Unlike most of the gymnastic events employing apparatuses, the vault is common to both men's and women's competition, with little difference between the two. A gymnast sprints down a runway, which is a maximum of in length, before leaping onto a
springboard A springboard or diving board is used for diving and is a board that is itself a spring, i.e. a linear flex-spring, of the cantilever type. Springboards are commonly fixed by a hinge at one end (so they can be flipped up when not in use), and ...
. Harnessing the energy of the spring, the gymnast directs his or her body hands-first toward the vault. Body position is maintained while "popping" (blocking using only a shoulder movement) the vaulting platform. The gymnast then rotates his or her body to land in a standing position on the far side of the vault. In advanced gymnastics, multiple twists and somersaults may be added before landing. Successful vaults depend on the speed of the run, the length of the hurdle, the power the gymnast generates from the legs and shoulder girdle,
kinesthetic Proprioception ( ), also referred to as kinaesthesia (or kinesthesia), is the sense of self-movement, force, and body position. It is sometimes described as the "sixth sense". Proprioception is mediated by proprioceptors, mechanosensory neurons ...
awareness in the air, and the speed of rotation in the case of more difficult and complex vaults. In 2004, the traditional vaulting horse was replaced with a new apparatus, sometimes known as a tongue or table. It is more stable, wider, and longer than the older vaulting horse—about in length and width, giving gymnasts a larger blocking surface—and is therefore safer than the old vaulting horse. This new, safer apparatus led gymnasts to attempt more difficult vaults.


=Notable champions

= On the men's side, the gymnasts who have won the most Olympic and/or World Championship titles on vault are
Marian Drăgulescu Marian Drăgulescu (born 18 December 1980 in Bucharest) is a former Romanian artistic gymnast. During his senior gymnastics career he won 31 medals at Olympic Games at World and European Championships, of which eight are gold medals at the World ...
of Romania and
Ri Se-gwang Ri Se-gwang (; born January 21, 1985) is a retired North Korean artistic gymnast, representing the April 25 Sports Club. He is often considered a specialist on vault apparatus in the sport of men’s artistic gymnastics (MAG). Career Ri was t ...
of North Korea, with four titles each.
Yang Hak-seon Yang Hak-seon ( ; born 6 December 1992) is a South Korean artistic gymnast who specialises in the vault. He is the first South Korean gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal. Personal life According to his Olympic profile, Yang started his gymn ...
, Eugen Mack, Alexei Memo,
Vitaly Scherbo Vitaly Venediktovich Scherbo (or Shcherbo; russian: Виталий Венедиктович Щербо, or Shcherba; be, Віталь Венядзіктавіч Шчэрба, ''Vital' Venjadziktavich Shcherba'', born 13 January 1972) is a Bel ...
, Li Xiaopeng, and
Lou Yun Lou Yun (; born June 23, 1964 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang) is a retired Chinese gymnast who competed in the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympic Games, winning the vault twice. Lou Yun began gymnastics training at the Hangzhou Sports School for Amateurs, and ...
have each won three titles. On the women's side,
Věra Čáslavská en, the love of Tokyo ja, 「オリンピックの名花」 en, darling of the Olympic Games , country = Czechoslovakia , formercountry = , birth_date = , birth_place = Prague, Czechoslovakia ( occupied by Germany 1939– ...
of Czechoslovakia has won the most titles, with four.
Simona Amânar Simona Amânar (; born 7 October 1979) is a Romanian former artistic gymnast. She is a seven-time Olympic and ten-time World Championship medalist. Amânar helped Romania win four consecutive world team titles (1994–1999), as well as the 20 ...
,
Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles (; born March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast. Her seven Olympic medals tied with Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals won by an American gymnast. Having won 25 World Championship medals, she is the most de ...
,
Cheng Fei Cheng Fei (; born May 29, 1988) is a retired Chinese artistic gymnast. She is a three-time World Champion on the vault (2005–2007) and 2006 World Champion on floor exercise. She was a member of the gold medal-winning Chinese teams for the ...
, and
Elena Zamolodchikova Elena "Zamo" Mikhailovna Zamolodchikova (russian: Елена Михайловна Замолодчикова; born 19 September 1982) is a Russian former artistic gymnast, and four-time Olympic medallist. In 2015, she was inducted in the Int ...
have each won three.


Floor exercise

The floor event occurs on a carpeted square consisting of hard foam over a layer of plywood, which is supported by springs or foam blocks. This provides a firm surface that will respond with force when compressed, allowing gymnasts to achieve extra height and a softer landing than would be possible on a regular floor. Men perform without music for 60 to 70 seconds and are required to touch each corner of the floor at least once during their routine. Their routines include tumbling passes to demonstrate flexibility, strength, balance, and power. They must also show non-acrobatic skills, including circles, scales, and press handstands. Women perform a 90-second choreographed routine to instrumental music. Their routines consist of tumbling passes, jumps, dance elements, acrobatic skills, and turns. Elite gymnasts may perform up to four tumbling passes.


=Notable champions

= On the men's side, the gymnasts who have won the most Olympic and/or World Championship titles on floor are
Marian Drăgulescu Marian Drăgulescu (born 18 December 1980 in Bucharest) is a former Romanian artistic gymnast. During his senior gymnastics career he won 31 medals at Olympic Games at World and European Championships, of which eight are gold medals at the World ...
of Romania, with four (along with
Roland Brückner Roland Brückner (born 14 December 1955) is a retired East German gymnast. He competed at the 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics in all artistic gymnastics events and won a bronze and a silver medal in the team competition, respectively. Individual ...
, if the Alternate Olympics are included).
Ihor Korobchynskyi Igor Korobchinski ( uk, Коробчинський Ігор Олексійович, ''Ihor Korobchynskyi''; born 16 August 1969) is a former gymnast that represented the Soviet Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Ukraine Ukrai ...
,
Vitaly Scherbo Vitaly Venediktovich Scherbo (or Shcherbo; russian: Виталий Венедиктович Щербо, or Shcherba; be, Віталь Венядзіктавіч Шчэрба, ''Vital' Venjadziktavich Shcherba'', born 13 January 1972) is a Bel ...
, and
Kenzō Shirai is a Japanese men's former athlete of artistic gymnastics ( AG). Born in Yokohama, Kanagawa, he, a graduate of Kishine High School, joined the Nippon Sport Science University ( Nittaidai). Shirai took the team gold, and a bronze on individual v ...
have three titles each. On the women's side,
Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles (; born March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast. Her seven Olympic medals tied with Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals won by an American gymnast. Having won 25 World Championship medals, she is the most de ...
of the United States has the most titles (6), followed by
Larisa Latynina Larisa Semyonovna Latynina (russian: link=yes, Лариса Семёновна Латынина, née Diriy, Дирий; born 27 December 1934) is a former Soviet artistic gymnast. Between 1956 and 1964 she won 14 individual Olympic medals and ...
of the Soviet Union (4).
Gina Gogean Gina Elena Gogean (born 9 September 1977) is a retired artistic gymnast from Romania who competed internationally in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. During her career she won an impressive number of 30 medals at Olympic Games, world cha ...
,
Daniela Silivaș Daniela Viorica Silivaș-Harper (; born 9 May 1972), is a Romanian former artistic gymnast best known for medaling in every single event at one Olympics, winning six medals (three gold, two silver, and one bronze) at the 1988 Summer Games in S ...
, and Nellie Kim have three titles each.


Men only


Pommel horse

A typical pommel horse exercise involves both single leg and double leg work. Single leg skills are generally found in the form of "scissors". In double leg work, the gymnast swings both legs in a circular motion (clockwise or counterclockwise depending on preference). To make the exercise more challenging, gymnasts will often include variations on typical circling skills by turning ("moores" and "spindles") or by straddling their legs ( "flares"). Routines end when the gymnast performs a dismount, either by swinging his body over the horse or landing after a handstand.


=Notable champions

= The gymnasts who have won the most Olympic and/or World Championship titles on pommel horse are
Miroslav Cerar Miroslav Cerar (; born 28 October 1939) is a Yugoslav former gymnast and lawyer of Slovene ethnicity who won the pommel horse event at the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics. He also won three world and nine European championships. Domestically ...
of Yugoslavia,
Zoltán Magyar Zoltán Magyar (born 13 December 1953) was the world's leading pommel horse gymnast in the 1970s. In this event he won two Olympic, three world, three European and two World Cup titles. Magyar had two moves named after him, the Magyar spindle ...
of Hungary, and
Max Whitlock Max Antony Whitlock (born 13 January 1993) is a British artistic gymnast. With fourteen medals and six titles in Olympic and world championships, Whitlock is the most successful gymnast in his nation's history, and the most successful pommel ...
of Great Britain, with five titles each.
Krisztián Berki Krisztián Berki (; born 18 March 1985 in Budapest) is a Hungarian artistic gymnast. He is a pommel horse specialist. In 2016 a pommel horse element of difficulty level 'E' was named after him. Sports career He is the 2012 Olympic Champion, ...
,
Dmitry Bilozerchev Dmitry Vladimirovich Bilozerchev (russian: Дмитрий Владимирович Билозерчев, born 22 December 1966 in Moscow) is a Russian gymnastics coach and retired gymnast who represented the Soviet Union. One of the most accompl ...
, Pae Gil-su,
Xiao Qin Xiao may refer to: * Filial piety (), or "being good to parents", a virtue in Chinese culture * Xiao (flute) (), a Chinese end-blown flute * Xiao (rank) (), a rank used for field officers in the Chinese military * Xiao County (), in Anhui, China ...
,
Boris Shakhlin Boris Anfiyanovich Shakhlin (russian: Борис Анфиянович Шахлин; 27 January 1932 – 30 May 2008) was a Soviet gymnast who was the 1960 Olympic all-around champion and the 1958 all-around World Champion. He won a total of 13 ...
, and
Marius Urzică Marius Daniel Urzică (born 30 September 1975 in Toplița, Romania) is a Romanian gymnast. Urzică is an Olympic champion, a three-time world champion and a three-time European champion on pommel horse. He competed at three Olympic Games, medali ...
, have won at least three titles apiece.


Still rings

The still rings are suspended on
wire cable Steel wire rope (right hand lang lay) Wire rope is several strands of metal wire twisted into a helix forming a composite ''rope'', in a pattern known as ''laid rope''. Larger diameter wire rope consists of multiple strands of such laid rope in a ...
from a point off the floor and adjusted in height so the gymnast has room to hang freely and swing. Gymnasts must demonstrate balance, strength, power, and dynamic motion while preventing the rings themselves from swinging. At least one static strength move is required, but some gymnasts include two or three.


=Notable champions

= The gymnasts who have won the most Olympic and/or World Championship titles on still rings are
Jury Chechi Jury Dimitri Chechi (; born 11 October 1969) is a retired Italian gymnast. Biography Chechi was named after cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. He won the Olympics title in the rings at Atlanta 1996 and was third at Athens 2004. Chechi's bronze was the r ...
of Italy (6) and
Chen Yibing Chen Yibing (; born 19 December 1984 in Tianjin) is a Chinese gymnast, a four-time world champion on still rings. Chen was part of the Chinese team that won the gold medal in the team event at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in 2006, ...
of China (5).
Nikolai Andrianov Nikolai Yefimovich Andrianov (russian: Никола́й Ефи́мович Андриа́нов; 14 October 1952 – 21 March 2011) was a Soviet and Russian gymnast. He held the record for men for the most Olympic medals at 15 (7 gold medals, ...
,
Albert Azaryan Albert Azaryan ( hy, Ալբերտ Ազարյան; born 11 February 1929) is a former Soviet Armenian artistic gymnast who competed internationally representing the Soviet Union. He is the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Champion on the still rings. Azaryan ...
,
Alexander Dityatin Aleksandr Nikolaevich Dityatin (russian: Александр Николаевич Дитятин, born 7 August 1957) is a retired Soviet/Russian gymnast, three-time Olympic champion, and ''Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR''. Winning eight m ...
,
Alois Hudec Alois Hudec (12 July 1908 – 23 January 1997) was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak gymnastics, gymnast and an individual World and Olympic Champion in the sport. He competed for Czechoslovakia at the Olympics, Czechoslovakia at the 1936 Summer Oly ...
,
Akinori Nakayama is a Japanese gymnast and Olympic gold medalist. Nakayama was born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, and is a graduate of Chukyo University in Nagoya. Nakayama is one of only two gymnasts to become an Olympic Champion in rings twice, the first to do ...
, and
Eleftherios Petrounias Eleftherios "Lefteris" Petrounias ( gr, Ελευθέριος "Λευτέρης" Πετρούνιας; born 30 November 1990, Athens) is a Greek artistic gymnast. He is the 2016 Olympic champion, 2020 Olympic bronze medalist, three-time World c ...
each have at least three such titles, as does
Dmitry Bilozerchev Dmitry Vladimirovich Bilozerchev (russian: Дмитрий Владимирович Билозерчев, born 22 December 1966 in Moscow) is a Russian gymnastics coach and retired gymnast who represented the Soviet Union. One of the most accompl ...
if the Alternate Olympics are included.


Parallel bars

The parallel bars consist of two bars slightly further than shoulder-width apart and usually high. Gymnasts execute a series of swings, balancing moves, and releases that require strength and coordination.


=Notable champions

= The gymnasts who have won the most Olympic and/or World Championship titles on parallel bars are Vladimir Artemov of the Soviet Union (5, including the Alternate Olympics) and Li Xiaopeng of China (4). Li Jing,
Vitaly Scherbo Vitaly Venediktovich Scherbo (or Shcherbo; russian: Виталий Венедиктович Щербо, or Shcherba; be, Віталь Венядзіктавіч Шчэрба, ''Vital' Venjadziktavich Shcherba'', born 13 January 1972) is a Bel ...
, and
Zou Jingyuan Zou Jingyuan (, born 3 January 1998) is a Chinese artistic gymnast who specializes on parallel bars and rings. He is the 2020 Olympic Champion and a three-time world champion on parallel bars. He was a member of the Chinese team that won bron ...
have each won three titles.


Horizontal bar

The horizontal bar (also known as the high bar) is a thick steel bar raised above the ground. The gymnast performs 'giants' (360-degree revolutions around the bar), release skills, twists, and changes of direction. By using the momentum from giants, enough height can be achieved for spectacular dismounts, such as a triple-back somersault. Leather
grips The , or GRIPS, is an elite, highly selective research graduate school located in Minato, Tokyo. Funded by the Japanese Government, it has the status of List of national universities in Japan, national university. It is also one of Asia's leading ...
are usually used to help maintain a hold on the bar.


=Notable champions

= The gymnast who has won the most Olympic and World Championship titles on the horizontal bar is
Epke Zonderland Epke Jan Zonderland (born 16 April 1986) is a Dutch artistic gymnast and the 2012 Olympic gold medallist on high bar. He is a 4-time Olympian (2008–20) and has also taken 3 World Championships golds on high bar at the 2013, 2014 and 2018 W ...
of the Netherlands, with four titles.
Zou Kai Zou Kai (; born February 25, 1988 in Luzhou, Sichuan) is a five-time Olympic and five-time World champion Chinese gymnast, specializing in floor exercise and the horizontal bar. Zou won his first three Olympic gold medals at the 2008 Olympic G ...
,
Leon Štukelj Leon Štukelj (; 12 November 1898 – 8 November 1999) was a Slovene professional gymnast. He was an Olympic gold medalist and athlete who represented Yugoslavia at the Olympics. He is a noted figure in Slovenian sporting history. Štukelj is o ...
, and Takashi Ono have each won three, as has
Dmitry Bilozerchev Dmitry Vladimirovich Bilozerchev (russian: Дмитрий Владимирович Билозерчев, born 22 December 1966 in Moscow) is a Russian gymnastics coach and retired gymnast who represented the Soviet Union. One of the most accompl ...
if the Alternate Olympics are included.


Women only


Uneven bars

The uneven bars (known as asymmetric bars in the UK) were adapted by the Czechoslovakian
Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a so ...
from the men's parallel bars some time before
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and were shown in international exhibition for the first time at the
1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...
in Amsterdam. They consist of two horizontal bars set at different heights. Gymnasts perform swings, pirouettes, transition moves between the bars, and releases. Higher-level gymnasts usually wear leather grips to ensure a strong hold on the bars while protecting their hands from painful
blister A blister is a small pocket of body fluid (lymph, serum, plasma, blood, or pus) within the upper layers of the skin, usually caused by forceful rubbing (friction), burning, freezing, chemical exposure or infection. Most blisters are filled wi ...
s and tears (known as rips). Gymnasts sometimes wet their grips with water from a spray bottle and may apply chalk to prevent the grips from slipping. Chalk may also be applied to the hands and bar if grips are not worn.


=Notable champions

= The gymnasts who have won the most Olympic and/or World Championship titles on uneven bars are
Svetlana Khorkina Svetlana Vasilyevna Khorkina (russian: Светлана Васильевна Хоркина; born 19 January 1979) is a retired Russian artistic gymnast. She competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the 2000 Summer Olympics, and the 2004 Summer Ol ...
of Russia (7),
Aliya Mustafina Aliya Farkhatovna Mustafina (russian: Алия Фархатовна Мустафина) is a Russian former artistic gymnast. With a combined total of 45 Olympic, World and European Championship medals, she is considered one of the most success ...
2 times uneven bars Olympic Champion
London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
,
Rio 2016 ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...
and 7 time Olympic Medalist.
Maxi Gnauck Maxi Gnauck (born 10 October 1964) is a retired artistic gymnast who represented East Germany. With a total of 27 medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cups, and European Championships she is considered one of the most success ...
of East Germany (5, including the Alternate Olympics).
Daniela Silivaș Daniela Viorica Silivaș-Harper (; born 9 May 1972), is a Romanian former artistic gymnast best known for medaling in every single event at one Olympics, winning six medals (three gold, two silver, and one bronze) at the 1988 Summer Games in S ...
of Romania has won three titles, as has
Ma Yanhong Ma Yanhong (; born March 21, 1964 in Beijing, China) (also reported in some media as July 5, 1963) is a retired Chinese Olympic athlete. She was the first Chinese gymnast, male or female, to win a gold medal at the World Gymnastics Championships ...
of China if the Alternate Olympics are included.


Balance beam

The balance beam existed as early as the 1880s in the form of a "low beam" close to the floor. By the 1920s, the beam was raised much higher due to Swedish influence on the sport. Gymnasts perform routines ranging from 70 to 90 seconds in length, consisting of leaps, acrobatic skills, turns, and dance elements, on a padded spring beam. Apparatus norms set by the FIG specify that the beam must be high, long, and wide. The event requires balance, flexibility, and strength.


=Notable champions

= Of all gymnastics apparatuses—men's or women's—balance beam has proven the most difficult on which to win multiple Olympic and World Championship titles. There are only three gymnasts to have won three Olympic or World Championship titles—
Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles (; born March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast. Her seven Olympic medals tied with Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals won by an American gymnast. Having won 25 World Championship medals, she is the most de ...
of the United States, and
Nadia Comăneci Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner (born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian retired gymnast and a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events. In 1976, at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10 ...
and
Daniela Silivaș Daniela Viorica Silivaș-Harper (; born 9 May 1972), is a Romanian former artistic gymnast best known for medaling in every single event at one Olympics, winning six medals (three gold, two silver, and one bronze) at the 1988 Summer Games in S ...
of Romania.


Competition format

In Olympic and World Championship competition, meets are divided into several sessions held on different days: qualifications, team finals, all-around finals, and event finals. During the ''qualification'' round (abbreviated TQ), gymnasts compete with their national squad on all four (WAG) or six (MAG) events. The scores from this session are not used to award medals, but rather to determine which teams advance to the team finals and which individual gymnasts advance to the all-around and event finals. For the 2020 Olympics, teams will consist of four gymnasts, with up to two additional gymnasts per country allowed to compete as individuals. The format of team qualifications is 4–4–3, meaning that all four gymnasts compete on each event, but only the top three scores count. Individual gymnasts may qualify to the all-around and event finals, but their scores do not count toward the team's total. In the ''team finals'' (abbreviated TF), gymnasts compete with their national squad on all four or six events. The scores from the session determine the medalists in the team competition. The current format is 4–3–3, meaning that of the four gymnasts on the team, three compete on each event, and all three scores count. In the ''all-around'' finals (abbreviated AA), gymnasts compete individually on all four or six events, and their totals determine the all-around medals. Only two gymnasts per country may advance to the all-around finals from the qualification round. In the ''event finals'' (abbreviated EF) or ''apparatus finals'', the top eight gymnasts on each event (as determined by scores in the qualification round) compete for medals. Only two gymnasts per country may advance to each event final. Competitions other than the Olympics and World Championships may use other formats. For instance, the
2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Com ...
had only one day of team competition with a 6–5–4 format, and three athletes per country were allowed to advance to the all-around. In other meets, such as those on the World Cup circuit, the team event is not contested at all.


New life

Since 1989, competitions have used the "new life" rule, under which scores from one session do not carry over to the next. In other words, a gymnast's performance in team finals does not affect his or her scores in the all-around finals or event finals, and marks from the team qualifying round do not count toward the team finals. Before this rule was introduced, the scores from the team competition carried over into the all-around and event finals. Final results and medal placement were determined by combining the following scores: ; Qualifiers for all-around and event finals: Team compulsories + team optionals ; Team competition: Team compulsories + team optionals ; All-around competition: Team results (compulsories and optionals) averaged + all-around ; Event finals: Team results (compulsories and optionals) averaged + event final


Compulsories

Until 1997, the team competition consisted of two sessions, with every gymnast performing standardized ''compulsory routines'' in the preliminaries and individualized ''optional routines'' on the second day. Team medals were determined based on the combined scores of both days, as were the qualifiers to the all-around and event finals. However, the all-around and event finals did not include compulsory routines. In meets where team titles were not contested, such as the
American Cup The American Cup (also known as the American Football Association Cup and the American Federation Cup) was the first major U.S. soccer competition open to teams beyond a single league. It was first held in 1885. In the 1910s, it gradually dec ...
, there were two days of all-around competition: one for compulsories and another for optionals. While optional routines were developed by each gymnast and her coach in accordance with the Code of Points and the gymnast's personal strengths, compulsory routines were developed and choreographed by the FIG Technical Committee. The dance and tumbling skills were generally less difficult than those in optional routines, but perfect technique, form, and execution were heavily emphasized. Scoring was exacting, with judges taking deductions for even slight deviations from the required choreography. For this reason, many gymnasts and coaches considered compulsories more challenging than optionals. Compulsories were eliminated at the end of 1996. The move was highly controversial, with many successful gymnastics federations—including the United States', Russia's, and China's—arguing that the compulsory exercises helped maintain a high standard of form, technique, and execution among gymnasts. Opponents of compulsories believed that they harmed emerging gymnastics programs. Some members of the gymnastics community still argue that compulsories should be reinstated, and many gymnastics federations have maintained compulsories in their national programs. Oftentimes, gymnasts competing at the lower levels of the sport—for instance, Levels 4–6 in USA Gymnastics, Grade 2 in South Africa, and Levels 3–6 in Australia—only perform compulsory routines.


Competition levels

Artistic gymnasts compete only with other gymnasts at their level. Each athlete starts at the lowest level and advances to higher levels by learning more difficult skills and achieving qualifying scores at competitions.


United States

In the United States, whose program is governed by
USA Gymnastics United States of America Gymnastics (USA Gymnastics or USAG) is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Established in 1963 as the U.S. Gymnastics Federation (USGF), USA Gymnastics is responsible for selecting and train ...
, levels range from 1 to 10, followed by elite. Levels 1 to 2 are usually considered recreational, or beginner; 3 to 6 intermediate; and 7 to elite advanced. Competitions begin at Level 3 or, in some gyms, Level 2. A gymnast must be able to perform specific skills on each event to advance to the next level, and once a gymnast has competed in a sectional meet at a given level, they may not drop back to a lower level in the same competitive season. Gymnasts in Levels 1–2 perform basic skills such as handstands and cartwheels. Levels 3–5 consist of compulsory routines; 6 is an in-between level with strict requirements but some leeway for gymnasts to show their own creativity; and Levels 7–10 consist of optional routines. Only elite gymnasts compete in accordance with the FIG's Code of Points; lower levels have a modified code. The elite program is divided into two categories: junior for gymnasts younger than 16, and senior for gymnasts 16 and older. (Gymnasts are allowed to compete at the senior level at the beginning of the calendar year in which they will turn 16.) Olympic teams are chosen from the senior elite program.


United Kingdom

The British Gymnastics level system goes from 5 (lowest) to 2, and there are separate tracks for elite- and club-level competition.


Canada

There are several competitive streams in Canadian gymnastics: recreational, developmental, pre-competitive, provincial, national, and high-performance. Provincial levels range from 5 (lowest) to 1; national levels are pre-novice, novice, open, and high performance; and high-performance levels are novice, junior, and senior.


Germany

In Germany, there are different competitive systems for recreational and high-performance gymnasts. Recreational gymnasts have a system of compulsory exercises from 1 to 9 and optional exercises from 4 to 1, with modified Code of Points requirements. For high-performance and junior athletes, there are compulsory and optional requirements defined by age, from ages 6 to 18.


Age requirements

The FIG imposes a minimum age requirement on gymnasts competing in certain international meets, but it does not impose a maximum age limit. The term ''senior'' refers to world-class or elite gymnasts who are age-eligible under FIG rules: Female gymnasts must be at least 16 or turning 16 within the calendar year, and the minimum age for men is 18. The term ''junior'' refers to any gymnast who competes at a world-class or elite level but is too young to be classified as a senior. Juniors are judged under the same Code of Points as seniors and often exhibit the same level of difficulty in their routines, but they are not allowed to compete at the Olympics, World Championships, or World Cups. Many meets, such as the European Championships, have separate divisions for juniors. But some competitions, such as the Goodwill Games, the
Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...
, the
Pacific Rim Championships The Pacific Rim Championships is a major regional biennial gymnastics competition. It is open to teams from member nations of the Pacific Alliance of National Gymnastics Federations, namely Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, ...
, and the All-Africa Games, permit seniors and juniors to compete together. The age requirement is contentious and is frequently debated by coaches, gymnasts, and other members of the gymnastics community. Those in favor of the age limits argue that they promote the participation of older athletes and spare younger gymnasts from the stress of competition and high-level training. Opponents point out that junior gymnasts are scored under the same Code of Points as the seniors (with some restrictions) and train mostly the same skills. They also argue that younger gymnasts need the experience of competing in major events to improve as athletes. Since stricter age requirements were adopted in the early 1980s, there have been several well-documented and many more suspected cases of juniors with falsified documents competing as seniors. The FIG has only taken disciplinary action in three cases: those of Kim Gwang-Suk of North Korea, who competed at the 1989 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships when she may have been as young as 11;
Hong Su-jong Hong Su-jong (born 9 March 1986 or 1989 in Hamgyong, North Korea) is a North Korean artistic gymnast. She is the 2007 World silver medalist on the vault. She competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the all-around and in the team event. She ...
of North Korea, who competed under three different birth dates in the 2000s; and China's
Dong Fangxiao Dong Fangxiao ( Chinese: 董芳霄; ''Dǒng Fāngxiāo'') is a Chinese retired international gymnast who competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She won a bronze medal with the Chinese team at the Olympics, as well as the 1999 World Championshi ...
, who competed at the 2000 Olympics when she was 14. While the minimum age requirement applies to both women and men, it is more contentious in the women's program because, while most top male gymnasts are in their late teens or early twenties, female gymnasts are typically ready to compete at the international level by their mid-teens. The difference is largely due to the fact that men's skills tend to emphasize strength more than women's skills.


Scoring

Scoring at the international level is regulated by the Code of Points. Under the current system—established in 2006—two panels judge each routine, evaluating different aspects of the performance. The ''D score'' covers skill requirements, difficulty value, and connection value (for skills performed back to back with no pause in between); the ''E score'' covers execution and artistry; and the two are added together to produce final scores. The maximum E score is 10, but there is no cap on the D score. Theoretically, this means scores could be infinite. However, average marks for routines in major competitions have generally been in the low to mid teens. This system, with its open-ended difficulty score, is very different from the one used for most of the sport's history. Before 2006, the highest possible score was a " perfect 10". Every routine was assigned a start value (SV) based on difficulty. A routine that included all required elements received a base SV—9.4 in 1996, 9.0 in 1997, 8.8 in 2001—and gymnasts could increase their SV to a maximum of 10 by performing harder skills and combinations. Then, to score a gymnast's routine, judges deducted from the SV for errors in execution. Some gymnasts and coaches—including Olympic gold medalists
Lilia Podkopayeva Lilia Oleksandrivna Podkopayeva ( uk, Лілія Олександрівна Подкопаєва; born August 15, 1978) is a Ukrainian former artistic gymnast. She is the 1995 world all-around champion, and the 1996 Olympic all-around and floor e ...
,
Svetlana Boginskaya Svetlana Leonidovna Boginskaya ( be, Святлана Леанідаўна Багінская, Sviatlana Lieanidauna Bahinskaya; russian: Светла́на Леони́довна Боги́нская; born February 9, 1973) is a former artistic ...
,
Shannon Miller Shannon Lee Miller (born March 10, 1977) is an American former artistic gymnast. She was the 1993 and 1994 world all-around champion, the 1996 Olympic balance beam champion, the 1995 Pan American Games all-around champion, and a member of the g ...
, and
Vitaly Scherbo Vitaly Venediktovich Scherbo (or Shcherbo; russian: Виталий Венедиктович Щербо, or Shcherba; be, Віталь Венядзіктавіч Шчэрба, ''Vital' Venjadziktavich Shcherba'', born 13 January 1972) is a Bel ...
, and Romanian team coach Nicolae Forminte — publicly opposed the new Code of Points when it was first announced. In addition, a 2006 report from the FIG Athletes' Commission cited major concerns about scoring, judging, and other subjects. Aspects of the code were revised in 2007, but there are no plans to return to the "perfect 10" format.


Major competitions


Global

*
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
: Artistic gymnastics is one of the most popular events at the Summer Olympics, held every four years. Countries qualify teams based on their performance at the World Championships the year before the Games. Nations that do not qualify to send a full team may qualify to send one or two individual gymnasts. *
World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
: The gymnastics-only World Championships is open to teams from every FIG member nation. The competition has different formats depending on the year: full team finals, all-around, and event finals; all-around and event finals only; or event finals only. Since 2019, the Junior World Championships have been held every two years. * The
Artistic Gymnastics World Cup The Artistic Gymnastics World Cup is a competition series for artistic gymnastics sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). It is one of the few tournaments in artistic gymnastics officially organized by FIG, as well as ...
and World Challenge Cup Series * Goodwill Games: Artistic gymnastics was an event at this now-defunct competition.


Regional


Multi-sport

* All-Africa Games: Held every four years, and open to teams and gymnasts from African nations. *
Central American and Caribbean Games The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC or CACGs) are a multi-sport regional championship event, held quadrennial (once every four years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The games are for countries in Cent ...
: Held every four years and open to teams and gymnasts from Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico, and the South American countries of Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. *
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
: Held every four years, and open to teams and gymnasts from Commonwealth nations. *
European Games The European Games is a continental multi-sport event in the Olympic tradition contested by athletes from European nations and several transcontinental countries. The Games were envisioned and are governed by the European Olympic Committees ...
: Held every four years, and open to teams and gymnastics from European nations. * Mediterranean Games: Held every four years, and open to gymnasts from nations around or very close to the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
, where Europe, Africa, and Asia meet. *
Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...
: Held every four years, and open to teams and gymnasts from North, South, and Central America. *
South American Games The South American Games (also known as ODESUR Games; Spanish: ''Juegos Suramericanos''; Portuguese: ''Jogos Sul-Americanos''), formerly the Southern Cross Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Cruz del Sur'') is a regional multi-sport event held between nati ...
: Held every four years, and open to teams and gymnasts from South American nations.


Gymnastics only

*
Asian Gymnastics Championships The Asian Gymnastic Union (AGU) organizes Asian Gymnastics Championships for each of the FIG gymnastic disciplines: men's and women's artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, acrobatic gymnastics, aerobic gymnastics and trampoline gymnastics. T ...
: Open to teams and gymnasts from Asian nations. * European Championships: Held every year, and open to teams and gymnasts from European nations. *
Pacific Rim Championships The Pacific Rim Championships is a major regional biennial gymnastics competition. It is open to teams from member nations of the Pacific Alliance of National Gymnastics Federations, namely Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, ...
(known as the Pacific Alliance Championships until 2008): Held every two years, and open to teams from members of the Pacific Alliance of National Gymnastics Federations, including the US, China, Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and other nations on the Pacific coast. *
Pan American Gymnastics Championships The Pan American Gymnastics Union organizes Pan American Gymnastics Championships in different disciplines of gymnastics: men's and women's artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, acrobatic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, as well as aerobic ...
: Held most years when the Pan American Games are not held, and open to teams and gymnasts from North, South, and Central America *
South American Gymnastics Championships The South American Gymnastics Confederation (CONSUGI) organizes South American Gymnastics Championships in different disciplines of gymnastics: men's and women's artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, as well as aerobi ...
: Held most years, and open to teams and gymnasts from South American countries.


National

Most countries hold a major competition (National Championships, or "Nationals") every year that determines the best-performing all-around gymnasts and event specialists. Gymnasts may qualify to their country's national team or be selected for international meets based on their scores at Nationals.


Dominant teams and nations


USSR and post-Soviet republics

Before the breakup of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in 1991, Soviet gymnasts dominated both men's and women's gymnastics, starting with the introduction of the full women's program into the Olympics and the overall increased standardization of the Olympic gymnastics competition format, which happened in 1952. The Soviet Union's success might be explained by the government's heavy investment in sports to support its political agenda on an international stage. The Soviet Union had many male stars, such as Olympic all-around champions
Viktor Chukarin Viktor Ivanovich Chukarin (russian: Виктор Иванович Чукарин, uk, Віктор Іванович Чукарін; 9 November 1921 – 25 August 1984) was a Soviet gymnast. He won eleven medals including seven gold medals at t ...
and
Vitaly Scherbo Vitaly Venediktovich Scherbo (or Shcherbo; russian: Виталий Венедиктович Щербо, or Shcherba; be, Віталь Венядзіктавіч Шчэрба, ''Vital' Venjadziktavich Shcherba'', born 13 January 1972) is a Bel ...
, and female stars, such as Olympic all-around champions
Larisa Latynina Larisa Semyonovna Latynina (russian: link=yes, Лариса Семёновна Латынина, née Diriy, Дирий; born 27 December 1934) is a former Soviet artistic gymnast. Between 1956 and 1964 she won 14 individual Olympic medals and ...
and
Svetlana Boginskaya Svetlana Leonidovna Boginskaya ( be, Святлана Леанідаўна Багінская, Sviatlana Lieanidauna Bahinskaya; russian: Светла́на Леони́довна Боги́нская; born February 9, 1973) is a former artistic ...
. From 1952 to 1992 inclusive, the Soviet women's squad won almost every team title in World Championship and Olympic competition, with only four exceptions: the 1984 Olympics, which the country boycotted, and the 1966, 1979, and 1987 World Championships. Most of the top Soviet gymnasts were from the
Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
, the
Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
, and the
Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор ...
. Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, its gymnasts performed together for the last time at the
1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
as the Unified Team, winning both the men's and women's team competitions. Russia has continued the Soviet tradition, medaling at every World and Olympic competition in both MAG and WAG disciplines, except at the 2008 Olympics. Ukraine maintained a strong team for more than a decade—Ukrainian
Lilia Podkopayeva Lilia Oleksandrivna Podkopayeva ( uk, Лілія Олександрівна Подкопаєва; born August 15, 1978) is a Ukrainian former artistic gymnast. She is the 1995 world all-around champion, and the 1996 Olympic all-around and floor e ...
was the all-around champion at the 1996 Olympics—but it has declined in recent years. Belarus has maintained a strong men's team. Other former republics have been less successful.


Romania

The Romanian team first achieved wide-scale success at the
1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...
with the performance of
Nadia Comăneci Nadia Elena Comăneci Conner (born November 12, 1961) is a Romanian retired gymnast and a five-time Olympic gold medalist, all in individual events. In 1976, at the age of 14, Comăneci was the first gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10 ...
, who was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 in Olympic competition. After that, using the centralized training system pioneered by
Béla Károlyi Béla Károlyi (; born September 13, 1942) is an ethnic Hungarian Romanian-American gymnastics coach. Early in his coaching career he developed the Romanian centralised training system for gymnastics. One of his earliest protégés was Nadia C ...
, they remained a dominant force in women's team and individual events for nearly four decades. Romania was one of only two teams ever to defeat the Soviets in head-to-head World or Olympic competition, winning at the 1979 and 1987 World Championships. (The other was the Czechoslovakian women's team at the 1966 World Championships.) The Romanian women also won team medals at every Olympics from 1976 to 2012 inclusive, including gold medals in 1984, 2000, and 2004. At the 16 World Championships from 1978 to 2007 inclusive, they failed to medal only twice (in 1981 and 2006) and won the team title seven times, including five victories in a row (1994–2001). From 1976 to 2000, they placed gymnasts—such as
Daniela Silivaș Daniela Viorica Silivaș-Harper (; born 9 May 1972), is a Romanian former artistic gymnast best known for medaling in every single event at one Olympics, winning six medals (three gold, two silver, and one bronze) at the 1988 Summer Games in S ...
,
Lavinia Miloșovici Lavinia Corina Miloșovici (born 21 October 1976) is a retired Romanian artistic gymnast.Jane Perlez (13 July 1995"Romanian Coach Keeps Up the Fight" ''New York Times'' An exceptionally successful athlete on the international competition circuit ...
, and
Simona Amânar Simona Amânar (; born 7 October 1979) is a Romanian former artistic gymnast. She is a seven-time Olympic and ten-time World Championship medalist. Amânar helped Romania win four consecutive world team titles (1994–1999), as well as the 20 ...
—on the all-around podium at every Olympics, and usually did the same at the World Championships through 2015, including producing World all-around champions
Aurelia Dobre Aurelia Dobre (born 16 November 1972) is a former artistic gymnast and the 1987 world all-around champion. She is the 1987 world champion on the balance beam and the bronze medalist on the vault and floor exercise, as well, and scored five pe ...
(1987) and
Maria Olaru Maria Olaru (born 4 June 1982)
Maria Olaru
is a ...
(1999). The decline of Romanian gymnastics began after the
2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
. At the 2006 World Championships, they failed to medal in the team competition, and only
Sandra Izbașa Sandra Raluca Izbașa (; born 18 June 1990) is a retired artistic gymnast from Romania. She is a double Olympic champion, having won the floor event at the 2008 Olympics and vault at the 2012 Olympics. She is also a winner of two Olympic bronze m ...
won any individual medals. They won bronze medals at the 2007 World Championships,
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
, and
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
but failed to medal at the
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
,
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
, or 2014 World Championships. Things took a drastic turn at the 2015 World Championships, where Romania did not even qualify for the team final. In 2016, it failed to qualify a full team to the
2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
, placing seventh at the 2016 Gymnastics Olympic Test Event. It earned one Olympic spot, which was filled by 3-time Olympic champion
Cătălina Ponor Cătălina Ponor (; born 20 August 1987) is a Romanian former artistic gymnast who competed at three Olympiads: 2004, 2012, and 2016. She won three gold medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens on balance beam, floor and as part of the R ...
. At the 2018 World Championships, Romania placed 13th in qualifications and did not make the team final. At the 2019 World Championships, it finished 22nd out of 24 teams—beating only the Czech Republic and Egypt—and again failed to qualify a team to the
2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...
, with only Maria Holbură earning an individual spot. After the Olympics were postponed due to the
Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, a second Romanian gymnast,
Larisa Iordache Larisa Andreea Iordache (; born 19 June 1996) is a former Romanian artistic gymnast. She represented Romania at the 2012 Olympic Games, winning a bronze medal with the team, and at the 2020 Olympic Games. The Romanian press referred to Ior ...
, earned an individual spot through the 2021 European Championships. The Romanian men's program, while less successful than the women's, has produced individual medalists such as
Marian Drăgulescu Marian Drăgulescu (born 18 December 1980 in Bucharest) is a former Romanian artistic gymnast. During his senior gymnastics career he won 31 medals at Olympic Games at World and European Championships, of which eight are gold medals at the World ...
and
Marius Urzică Marius Daniel Urzică (born 30 September 1975 in Toplița, Romania) is a Romanian gymnast. Urzică is an Olympic champion, a three-time world champion and a three-time European champion on pommel horse. He competed at three Olympic Games, medali ...
at World and Olympic competitions.


United States

While isolated American gymnasts, including Kurt Thomas and Cathy Rigby, won medals at World Championship competitions in the 1970s, the United States team was largely considered a "second power" until the late 1980s, when American gymnasts began medaling consistently in major, fully attended competitions. At the 1984 Olympics, which the Soviet bloc
boycotted A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
, the American men won the gold with a team composed of
Bart Conner Bart Wayne Conner (born March 28, 1958) is a retired American Olympic gymnast. As a member of the US men's gymnastics team at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, Conner won two gold medals. He owns and operates the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy in No ...
,
Tim Daggett Timothy P. Daggett (born May 22, 1962) is a former American gymnast and an Olympic gold medalist. He is a graduate of West Springfield High School and UCLA, who competed in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, along with Bart Conner, Peter Vidmar an ...
,
Mitch Gaylord Mitchell Jay Gaylord (born March 10, 1961) is an American gymnast, actor, and Olympic gold medalist. Early life Gaylord was born in Van Nuys, California, the son of Fred and Linda Gaylord, and is Jewish. Gaylord graduated from Grant High Schoo ...
,
Jim Hartung James Hartung (born June 7, 1960) is a retired American gymnast. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska. Elite competition Hartung was a member of the 1980 Olympic team but did not compete due to the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Mosco ...
, Scott Johnson, and
Peter Vidmar Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...
. The women's team—composed of
Pam Bileck Pamela Jean Bileck-Flat (born December 1, 1968 in Pittsburgh) is a former Gymnastics, gymnast. She competed for the United States national team at the 1984 Summer Olympics and won a silver medal in the team competition. She was also a member of the ...
,
Michelle Dusserre Michelle Hollis Dusserre (born December 26, 1968) is a former gymnast. She competed for the United States national team at the 1984 Summer Olympics and won a silver medal in the team competition. She was born in Long Beach, California Long B ...
,
Kathy Johnson Kathleen "Kathy" Johnson Clarke (born Kathleen Ann Johnson; September 13, 1959) is an American sports commentator and former artistic gymnast. Johnson was one of the first American gymnasts to win a major international medal, known for her longe ...
,
Julianne McNamara Julianne Lyn McNamara (born October 11, 1965) is an American former artistic gymnast, who was born to Australians Jean and Kevin McNamara. She was the winner of the U.S. women's first individual event gold medal in Olympic history. Career McNa ...
,
Mary Lou Retton Mary Lou Retton (born January 24, 1968) is an American retired gymnast. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, she won a gold medal in the individual all-around competition, as well as two silver medals and two bronze medals. Her performanc ...
, and
Tracee Talavera Tracee Ann Talavera (born September 1, 1966) is an American former artistic gymnast who competed for the United States at the Olympics and World Championships. She qualified for the 1980 Olympic team. She was the 1981 and 1982 U.S. National All- ...
—won a silver medal, and Retton became the first American Olympic all-around champion. In 1991,
Kim Zmeskal Kimberly Lynn Zmeskal Burdette (née ''Zmeskal'' on February 6, 1976) is an American retired artistic gymnast turned gymnastics coach and the 1991 World All-Around champion. A member of the silver medal-winning U.S. team from the 1991 World Cha ...
became the first American all-around winner at the World Championships. At the 1992 Olympics, the American women won their first team medal (bronze) at a fully attended Games, as well as their highest all-around ranking, a silver medal for
Shannon Miller Shannon Lee Miller (born March 10, 1977) is an American former artistic gymnast. She was the 1993 and 1994 world all-around champion, the 1996 Olympic balance beam champion, the 1995 Pan American Games all-around champion, and a member of the g ...
. In men's gymnastics, Trent Dimas won the horizontal bar final. The U.S. women's team has become increasingly successful in the modern era, with the 1996 Olympic team victory of the Magnificent Seven, the 2003 Worlds team victory, and multiple medals in both WAG and MAG at the
2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
. At the
2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
and
2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...
, the U.S. women won the team gold. The United States has produced the last five women's Olympic all-around champions—
Carly Patterson Carly Rae Patterson (born February 4, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter and former artistic gymnast. She was the all-around champion at the 2004 Olympics, the first all-around champion for the United States at a non-boycotted Olympics, and ...
(2004),
Nastia Liukin Anastasia "Nastia" Liukin (; russian: Анастасия Валерьевна Люкина ; born October 30, 1989) is a Russian-born American former artistic gymnast. She is the 2008 Olympic All-Around champion, a five-time Olympic medalist, ...
(2008),
Gabby Douglas Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas (born December 31, 1995) is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2012 Olympic all around champion and the 2015 World all-around silver medalist. She was a member of the gold-winning teams at both the 2 ...
(2012),
Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles (; born March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast. Her seven Olympic medals tied with Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals won by an American gymnast. Having won 25 World Championship medals, she is the most de ...
(2016) and
Sunisa Lee Sunisa "Suni" Lee (born Sunisa Phabsomphou; March 9, 2003) is a Hmong American artistic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic all-around champion and uneven bars bronze medalist. She was a member of the teams that won gold at the 2019 World Champi ...
(2021)—as well as individual gymnasts such as World all-around champions Zmeskal (1991),
Shannon Miller Shannon Lee Miller (born March 10, 1977) is an American former artistic gymnast. She was the 1993 and 1994 world all-around champion, the 1996 Olympic balance beam champion, the 1995 Pan American Games all-around champion, and a member of the g ...
(1993, 1994),
Chellsie Memmel Chellsie Marie Memmel (born June 23, 1988) is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2005 world all-around champion (the third American woman, after Kim Zmeskal and Shannon Miller, to win that title) and the 2003 world champion on the uneven ...
(2005),
Shawn Johnson Shawn Johnson East (born Shawn Machel Johnson; January 19, 1992) is an American former artistic gymnast. She is the 2008 Olympic balance beam gold medalist and team, all-around and floor exercise silver medalist. Johnson is also the 2007 al ...
(2007),
Bridget Sloan Bridget Elizabeth Sloan (born June 23, 1992) is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2009 world champion in the all-around, the 2009 United States national champion, and a silver medalist with the American team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in ...
(2009),
Jordyn Wieber Jordyn Marie Wieber (born July 12, 1995) is an American former artistic gymnast turned gymnastics coach. Since April 2019, she has been the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks gymnastics team. Wieber was a member of the gold medal-winning ...
(2011), Biles (2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019), and
Morgan Hurd Morgan Elizabeth Hurd (born July 18, 2001) is an American artistic gymnast and a five-time member of the United States women's national team (2016–21). She is the 2017 World all-around champion and balance beam silver medalist and the 2018 ...
(2017). At the 2005 World Championships, American women won the gold and silver in the all-around and in every event final except vault (where
Alicia Sacramone Alicia Marie Sacramone Quinn (; born December 3, 1987) is a retired American artistic gymnast. She won a silver medal with the United States team at the 2008 Summer Olympics and is the 2005 World Champion on floor exercise and the 2010 World Ch ...
placed third). They continue to be one of the most dominant forces in the sport. The men's team made the medal podium at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, as well as the 2003 and 2011 World Championships.
Paul Hamm Paul Elbert Hamm (born September 24, 1982 in Washburn, Wisconsin) is a retired American artistic gymnast. He is the 2004 Olympic all-around champion, a three-time Olympic medalist, and the 2003 World all-around champion. Hamm is the most succes ...
, the most successful U.S. male gymnast, became the first American man to win a World all-around title in 2003. He followed this up by winning the all-around at the 2004 Olympics.
Jonathan Horton Jonathan Alan Horton (born December 31, 1985) is a former American artistic gymnast. He is the 2008 Olympic silver medalist on high bar, the 2010 World all-around bronze medalist, a two-time Olympian, a two-time U.S. National All-Around Champ ...
won a silver medal on the horizontal bar at the 2008 Olympics and a bronze in the all-around at the 2010 World Championships, and
Danell Leyva Danell Johan Leyva (born October 30, 1991) is a Cuban-American former gymnast who competed for the United States. He is the 2012 Olympic individual all-around bronze medalist and 2016 Olympic parallel bars and horizontal bar silver medalist. H ...
won the all-around bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics and two silver medals (parallel bars and horizontal bar) at the 2016 Olympics.


China

China has had successful men's and women's programs over the past 25 years. The Chinese men won team gold at the 2000 and 2008 Olympics, and every World Championship team title from 1994 to 2014 (except 2001, when they placed fifth). They have produced individual gymnasts like Olympic all-around champions
Li Xiaoshuang Li Xiaoshuang (; born November 1, 1973) is a Chinese gymnast and Olympic champion.
(1996) and Yang Wei (2008). The Chinese women's team won gold at the 2006 World Championships and 2008 Olympics, and has produced individual gymnasts like
Mo Huilan Mo Huilan (; born 19 July 1979 in Guilin, Guangxi) is a retired Chinese gymnast who competed at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. She was one of China's most successful gymnasts in the 1990s. She was known for performing routines of exceptiona ...
,
Kui Yuanyuan Kui Yuanyuan (Simplified Chinese: 奎媛媛; born June 23, 1981) is a former artistic gymnast from China who competed in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. Gymnastics career Kui won the floor exercise at the 1996 World Artistic Gymnastics ...
, Yang Bo,
Cheng Fei Cheng Fei (; born May 29, 1988) is a retired Chinese artistic gymnast. She is a three-time World Champion on the vault (2005–2007) and 2006 World Champion on floor exercise. She was a member of the gold medal-winning Chinese teams for the ...
, Sui Lu,
Huang Huidan Huang Huidan () is a Chinese artistic gymnast. She is the 2013 world uneven bars champion and 2014 world uneven bars silver medalist. She represents Zhejiang in domestic competitions. Junior career Huang joined the Chinese national team in 200 ...
, Yao Jinnan, and
Fan Yilin Fan Yilin (; born 11 November 1999) is a Chinese artistic gymnast and uneven bars specialist. She is a two-time world champion on the uneven bars (2015, 2017) and the 2015 Asian champion on balance beam. At the 2015 World Championships, she was ...
. Chinese women who have won individual Olympic gold medals are
Ma Yanhong Ma Yanhong (; born March 21, 1964 in Beijing, China) (also reported in some media as July 5, 1963) is a retired Chinese Olympic athlete. She was the first Chinese gymnast, male or female, to win a gold medal at the World Gymnastics Championships ...
,
Lu Li Lu Li (; born August 30, 1976) is a Chinese gymnast. Lu made the Chinese national team in late 1991. However, liver illness almost prevented her from competing in the Olympic Games. In April 1992, just a few months before the Barcelona Games ...
, Liu Xuan,
He Kexin He Kexin (born January 1, 1992) is a Chinese former artistic gymnast who competed at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, she won gold medals on the uneven bars and as a member of the Chinese team. She was one ...
,
Deng Linlin Deng Linlin (; ; born April 21, 1992 in Lixin, Anhui), is a retired Chinese gymnast. She was a member of the Chinese team that won the team gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, People's Republic of China, and is a three-time World ...
, and
Guan Chenchen Guan Chenchen ( zh, c=管晨辰, p=Guǎn Chén Chén; born September 25, 2004) is a Chinese former artistic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic champion and the 2020 Chinese champion on the balance beam. On the junior level, she was a member of ...
. Though for many years considered a two-event team (uneven bars and balance beam), China has developed successful all-arounders like Olympic bronze medalists Liu Xuan (2000), Zhang Nan (2004), and
Yang Yilin Yang Yilin (born August 26, 1992) is a retired Chinese artistic gymnast. She was the 2008 Olympic all-around bronze medalist and a member of the gold medal winning Chinese Olympics gymnastics team. Yang was also the 2007 World Championships ...
(2008). Like the Soviet Union, they have been accused of grueling and sometimes cruel training methods, as well as age falsification.


Japan

The Japanese men's team was dominant during the 1960s and 1970s, winning every Olympic team title from 1960 through 1976 thanks to individual gymnasts such as Olympic all-around champions Sawao Katō and
Yukio Endō was a Japanese artistic gymnast, Olympic champion and world champion. He was part of the first Japanese team that succeeded to win gold medals in the team event at the Summer Olympics (1960) and World Championships (1962). In 1964 he won the ...
. Several innovations pioneered by Japanese gymnasts during this era have remained in the sport, including the
Tsukahara vault The Tsukahara can refer to a specific vault and a family of vaults in artistic gymnastics. The first Tsukahara vault was performed by (and named after) Mitsuo Tsukahara in 1972. A Tsukahara vault consists of a half turn off the springboard onto t ...
. More recently, Japanese men have re-emerged as top contenders since winning a team gold at the 2004 Olympics. Six-time World champion and two-time Olympic all-around gold medalist
Kōhei Uchimura is a retired Japanese artistic gymnast. He is a seven-time Olympic medalist (all-around, team and floor exercise), winning three golds and four silvers, and a twenty-one-time World medalist (all-around, team, floor exercise, horizontal bar, a ...
is widely considered to be the best all-around gymnast ever, and
Hiroyuki Tomita Hiroyuki Tomita (Japanese: 冨田洋之; born November 21, 1980) is a Japanese gymnast. Tomita won three Olympic medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Personal life Tomita began gymnastics at the age of eight
won 10 World and Olympic medals from 2003 to 2008. The women have been less successful, but there have been individual standouts such as Olympic and World medalist Keiko Tanaka-Ikeda, who competed in the 1950s and 1960s, and more recently Koko Tsurumi,
Rie Tanaka is a Japanese voice actress and singer who is currently affiliated with Office Anemone. Notable among her numerous roles in anime are Lacus Clyne in ''Mobile Suit Gundam Seed'' and ''Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny'', Chi in '' Chobits'', Hi ...
,
Natsumi Sasada is a Japanese artistic gymnast. She was part of the silver medalling team at the 2015 Summer Universiade where she also won a bronze medal in the individual all-around competition. Sasada also competed for Japan in the first ever Youth Olympic ...
,
Yuko Shintake is a Japanese gymnast. She competed for the national team at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics in the Gymnastics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's artistic team all-around, Women's artistic team all-around. Refere ...
,
Asuka Teramoto is a Japanese gymnast. Teramoto was born in Komaki, Aichi. Her first major international senior competition was the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo, Japan. In the team all-around finals, she contributed on vaulting, uneven ...
, Sae Miyakawa,
Hitomi Hatakeda is a Japanese former artistic gymnast who competed at the 2020 Olympic Games. She is the 2019 Summer Universiade champion in the team, all-around, uneven bars, and balance beam. She is also the 2020 American Cup all-around bronze medalist. E ...
,
Aiko Sugihara is a Japanese female artistic gymnast. She is the 2015 Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2015 Asian team and all-around champion and uneven bars and floor exercise silver medalist. She is also the 2019 Summer Universiade champion with th ...
, and Mai Murakami. Tsurumi won a bronze medal in the all-around and silver on bars at the 2009 World Championships, and Murakami won gold on floor in 2017, the first Japanese woman to win a World gold medal since Tanaka-Ikeda.


Germany

The German Democratic Republic, or
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
, had a very successful gymnastics program before the reunification of Germany. Its MAG and WAG teams frequently won silver or bronze medals at the World Championships and Olympics, led by male gymnasts such as Andreas Wecker and
Roland Brückner Roland Brückner (born 14 December 1955) is a retired East German gymnast. He competed at the 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics in all artistic gymnastics events and won a bronze and a silver medal in the team competition, respectively. Individual ...
, and female gymnasts such as
Maxi Gnauck Maxi Gnauck (born 10 October 1964) is a retired artistic gymnast who represented East Germany. With a total of 27 medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cups, and European Championships she is considered one of the most success ...
,
Karin Janz Karin may refer to: *Karin (given name), a feminine name Fiction * ''Karin'' (manga) or ''Chibi Vampire'', a Japanese media franchise *Karin Hanazono, title character of the manga and anime ''Kamichama Karin'' *Karin Kurosaki, a character in ''Bl ...
, and
Erika Zuchold Erika Zuchold (''née'' Barth; 19 March 1947 – 22 August 2015) was an East German gymnast who competed at the European, World, and Olympic level from the mid-1960s to early 1970s. She and Karin Janz were the two most significant (in terms of m ...
. The Federal Republic of Germany, or
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
, had international stars like
Eberhard Gienger Eberhard Gienger (; born 21 July 1951) is a German politician ( CDU) and former West German gymnast. He competed at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics, winning bronze in the latter. Gymnastics career During his gymnastics career from 1971 to 1 ...
, Willi Jaschek, and
Helmut Bantz Helmut Bantz (14 September 1921 – 4 October 2004) was a German gymnast and Olympic champion. He won a gold medal in the vault at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, competing for the United Team of Germany. Having fought for Germany in Worl ...
. Since its reunification, Germany has produced a number of medal-winning gymnasts, including
Fabian Hambüchen Fabian Hambüchen (also spelled Hambuechen; ; born 25 October 1987) is a retired German gymnast who was a four-time Olympian (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016) and was Olympic, World, and European champion. Fabian also won gold medals at European Games a ...
,
Philipp Boy Philipp Boy (born 23 July 1987 in Schwedt, East Germany) is a former German gymnast. He was a member of the 2007 and 2010 World bronze medal winning teams. In addition, he won back-to-back silver medals in the World All Around competition (20 ...
, and
Marcel Nguyen Marcel Van Minh Phuc Long Nguyen (born 8 September 1987) is a German artistic gymnast and three-time Olympian, having represented Germany at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympic Games. He is the 2012 Olympic silver medalist in the all-around and o ...
among the men and
Pauline Schäfer Pauline Sieglinde Schäfer or Schäfer-Betz (born 4 January 1997) is a German Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast who represented Germany at the Gymnastics at the 2016 Summer Olympics, 2016 and Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics, 2020 Olymp ...
, Elizabeth Seitz,
Sophie Scheder Sophie Celina Scheder (born 7 January 1997) is a German artistic gymnast. She is the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist on the uneven bars. Senior career 2013 Scheder competed at the 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, where she finished 5t ...
, and
Tabea Alt Tabea Lara Alt (born 18 March 2000) is a former German elite artistic gymnast. She is the 2017 World bronze medalist on balance beam, and a 2016 Olympian. She competed at the 2016 Gymnastics Olympic Test Event, contributing to the team placing o ...
among the women. The former Soviet/Uzbek gymnast
Oksana Chusovitina Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina (russian: Оксана Александровна Чусовитина; born 19 June 1975) is an eight-time Olympic gymnast who has competed for the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan, and Germany. Chusovitina's care ...
also competed for Germany from 2006 to 2012, winning two World medals and an Olympic silver on vault.


Czechoslovakia

The
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
n women's team was the main threat to the dominance of the Soviet women's team for decades. They won team medals at every World Championships and Olympics from 1934 to 1970, with the exceptions of the 1950 Worlds and 1956 Olympics. Among their leaders were Vlasta Děkanová, the first women's World all-around champion, and
Věra Čáslavská en, the love of Tokyo ja, 「オリンピックの名花」 en, darling of the Olympic Games , country = Czechoslovakia , formercountry = , birth_date = , birth_place = Prague, Czechoslovakia ( occupied by Germany 1939– ...
, who won all five European, World and Olympic all-around titles during the 1964–68 Olympic cycle—a feat never matched by any other gymnast, male or female. Čáslavská also led Czechoslovakia to the world team title in 1966, making the country one of only two (Romania being the other) ever to defeat the Soviet women's team at a major competition. The Czechoslovakian men's success at the World Championships was the greatest of any country prior to
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
: They were first in the medal table more than any other nation and won the most team titles during the pre-WWII period. Together, Czechoslovakia and its precursor, the Austro-Hungarian constituent
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
, produced four men's World all-around champions: Josef Čada in 1907, Ferdinand Steiner in 1911,
František Pecháček František Pecháček (15 February 1896 – 3 February 1944) was a Czech gymnast who competed for Czechoslovakia in the 1920 Summer Olympics. He was born in Záhornice near Městec Králové and was murdered in Mauthausen-Gusen concentrati ...
in 1922, and
Jan Gajdoš Jan Gajdoš (27 December 1903 – 19 November 1945) was a Czech gymnast, representing Czechoslovakia. He competed in two Olympic Games and five gymnastics World Championships. Competitive career His first Olympics was in 1928, where he took silv ...
in 1938. Their most decorated athlete was
Ladislav Vácha Ladislav Vácha (21 March 1899 in Brno – 28 June 1943) was a Czech gymnast and Olympic champion competing for Czechoslovakia. He competed at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, where he received a bronze medal in ''rope climbing'' and '' ...
, who won 10 individual World and Olympic medals.


Hungary

Led by individuals such as 10-time Olympic medalist (with five golds)
Ágnes Keleti Ágnes Keleti (''né'' Klein; 9 January 1921) is a Hungarian-Israeli retired Olympic and world champion artistic gymnast and coach. She is the oldest living Olympic champion and medalist, reaching her 100th birthday January 9, 2021. While repres ...
, the Hungarian women's team medaled at the first four Olympics that included women's artistic gymnastics competitions (1936–1956), as well as at the 1954 World Championships. After a long decline, World and Olympic vault champion
Henrietta Ónodi Henrietta Ónodi (born May 22, 1974) is a Hungarian artistic gymnast. She competed at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics and won a gold and a silver medal in 1992. After retiring from gymnastics in 1997 she moved to the United States, married American O ...
put them back on the map in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Hungarian men never had the same level of success as the women, although
Zoltán Magyar Zoltán Magyar (born 13 December 1953) was the world's leading pommel horse gymnast in the 1970s. In this event he won two Olympic, three world, three European and two World Cup titles. Magyar had two moves named after him, the Magyar spindle ...
dominated the pommel horse in the 1970s, winning eight of a possible nine European, World and Olympic titles from 1973 to 1980.
Szilveszter Csollány Szilveszter Csollány (; 13 April 1970 – 24 January 2022) was a Hungarian gymnast who won gold in the men's rings at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Life and career Csollány won gold in the men's rings at the 2000 Summer Olympics in S ...
, a World and Olympic champion on rings, also won medals at major competitions for a decade starting in the early 1990s. In more recent years,
Krisztián Berki Krisztián Berki (; born 18 March 1985 in Budapest) is a Hungarian artistic gymnast. He is a pommel horse specialist. In 2016 a pommel horse element of difficulty level 'E' was named after him. Sports career He is the 2012 Olympic Champion, ...
has won World and Olympic titles on the pommel horse.


Other nations

Several other nations have been strong competitors in both WAG and MAG. Part of the rise of various countries' programs in recent years is attributable to the large exodus of coaching talent from the USSR and other former
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
countries. In the past two decades, Australia, Brazil, Great Britain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and South Korea have produced World and Olympic medalists and have started winning team medals at continental, World and Olympic competitions. Individual gymnasts from Croatia, Greece, North Korea, Slovenia, and Spain have also been successful in major competitions.


Health consequences


Physical health

Gymnastics sits on many lists of the world's most dangerous sports. Artistic gymnastics carries an inherently high risk of spinal and other injuries, and in extremely rare cases, gymnasts have sustained fatal injuries. Julissa Gomez, an American gymnast, died in 1991 after breaking her neck while vaulting three years earlier. Several other gymnasts have been paralyzed from accidents in training or competition, including
Elena Mukhina Elena Vyacheslavovna Mukhina (russian: Елена Вячеславовна Мухина; first name sometimes rendered "Yelena", last name sometimes rendered "Muchina"; 1 June 196022 December 2006) was a Soviet gymnast who won the all-around t ...
of the Soviet Union and
Sang Lan Sang Lan (; born 11 June 1981) is a former Chinese gymnast and television personality. She is currently a student and advocates for improved conditions for disabled people within China. Athletic career and injury Sang achieved excellence in gym ...
of China.


Mental health

The pressure of the sport can make it even more dangerous to athletes. During the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, gymnast
Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles (; born March 14, 1997) is an American artistic gymnast. Her seven Olympic medals tied with Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals won by an American gymnast. Having won 25 World Championship medals, she is the most de ...
took a step back from competition to assess her mental health and ensure she was not putting herself at a greater risk of physical injury. Other athletes have expressed their support and called for a greater emphasis on mental health in gymnastics.


Controversies and abuse

Eating disorders are also common, especially in women's gymnastics, in which gymnasts are motivated and sometimes pushed by coaches to maintain a below-normal body weight. The problem gained public attention in the 1990s after the death of Christy Henrich, a U.S. national team member who suffered from
anorexia Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gre ...
and
bulimia Bulimia nervosa, also known as simply bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating followed by purging or fasting, and excessive concern with body shape and weight. The aim of this activity is to expel the body of calories eaten ...
. Abusive coaching and training practices in gymnastics gained widespread attention after the publication of Joan Ryan's book ''
Little Girls in Pretty Boxes ''Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters'' is a 1995 nonfiction book by ''San Francisco Chronicle'' sports writer Joan Ryan detailing the difficult training regimens endured by young women in ...
'' in 1995. USA Gymnastics began investigating several coaches in their program for abuses of all kind. In the late 2010s, many individual gymnasts—including former elite competitors from Australia, Britain, and the United States—began to speak out about the abuse they had experienced. This followed several years of allegations of sexual abuse by gymnastics coaches and other authority figures, including the former U.S. team doctor
Larry Nassar Lawrence "Larry" Gerard Nassar (born August 16, 1963) is an American former physician and convicted child rapist. For 18 years, he was the team doctor of the United States women's national gymnastics team. He used his employment as th ...
. In April 2020, Maggie Haney, former coach of Olympian Laurie Hernandez, was suspended for eight years following her allegations of verbal and emotional abuse toward her gymnasts. During the 1996 Olympics, Kerri Strug had injured her foot after her first vault. However, her vault was what was standing in between Team USA and a gold medal. Strug performed her second vault, landing on one foot and was carried off by her coach crying in pain. Strug's teammate, Dominique Moceanu also opened up about the abuse she experienced. She said that she competed in the Olympics with a tibial stress fracture. Additionally, she fell on her head during her beam routine, and talked about how none of these injuries were treated properly. After being the coordinators for Team USA for nearly three decades in 2016, Bela and Marta Karolyi retired. After allegations that gymnasts were experiencing sexual abuse while training at the Karolyi ranch, it was officially closed in 2018. Upon investigations of those working closely with Larry Nassar, John Geddert, head coach of the 2012 Women's Olympic Team, was suspended by USA Gymnastics for sexual assault, physical abuse, and human trafficking, and committed suicide shortly after being charged in February 2021. The
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
had heard allegations from gymnasts regarding their sexual abuse as early as 2015, but did not address them until years later when Nassar was sentenced to prison in 2017. At the time of Nassar's court hearing, more than 160 women had spoken up about the abuse they endured. In a Senate hearing from September 2021, the victims and their representatives claimed that Nassar had abused 120 more women from the time the FBI knew about his allegations until the time they took action against him.


See also

*
List of current female artistic gymnasts This is a list of female artistic gymnasts currently competing internationally for their federation. To appear on this list, a gymnast must be active and a member of her country's national team or have a FIG Licence. Gymnasts are listed under thei ...
* List of notable artistic gymnasts *
International Gymnastics Hall of Fame The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, located in Oklahoma City, USA, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of the world's greatest competitors, coaches and authorities in artistic gymnastics. The early IGHO ...
*
List of Olympic medalists in gymnastics (men) This is the complete list of men's Olympic medalists in gymnastics. Artistic gymnastics Current program All-around, individual All-around, team Floor exercise Horizontal bar Parallel bars Pommel horse Rings Vault Discontinued even ...
*
List of Olympic medalists in gymnastics (women) This is the complete list of women's Olympic medalists in gymnastics. Artistic gymnastics Current program All-around, individual All-around, team Note: The International Gymnastics Federation recommended to the IOC that the medals of the C ...
* Artistic gymnastics terms named after people


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Artistic Gymnastics Gymnastics Summer Olympic disciplines