![Saltovor1b](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Saltovor1b.gif)
A somersault (also ''flip'', ''heli'', and in gymnastics ''salto'') is an
acrobatic
Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro ...
exercise in which a person's body
rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the
head.
A somersault can be performed forwards, backwards or sideways and can be executed in the air or on the ground. When performed on the ground, it is typically called a
roll
Roll or Rolls may refer to:
Movement about the longitudinal axis
* Roll angle (or roll rotation), one of the 3 angular degrees of freedom of any stiff body (for example a vehicle), describing motion about the longitudinal axis
** Roll (aviation) ...
.
Types
Body positions
Somersault may be performed with different positions, including tucked, piked (bent at the hips), straddled, and layout (straight body).
Direction
The sport of
tumbling does not require participants to combine both front and back elements, and most tumblers prefer back tumbling as it is easier to build momentum.
Arabian saltos begin backwards, continue with a half twist to forwards, and end with one or more saltos forwards. They can be trained by beginning with an Arabian dive roll and adding a front salto to it. They are counted as front tumbling in
women's artistic gymnastics
Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which ...
and back tumbling in
men's artistic gymnastics
Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...
.
Twists
Somersaults are often completed with twists.
Multiple rotations
By 2003, the tucked double back salto had become common in women's gymnastics. The triple back salto exists in men's gymnastics but was rarely competed until 2017.
In 2019, American 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 ...
was the first woman to compete a back triple double: two saltos backwards with three twists in a tucked position.
See also
* Aerial cartwheel
* Cartwheel (gymnastics)
* Roll (gymnastics)
A roll is the most basic and fundamental skill in gymnastics class. There are many variations in the skill. Rolls are similar to flips in the fact that they are a complete rotation of the body, but the rotation of the roll is usually made on the ...
* Trampolining
Trampolining or trampoline gymnastics is a competitive Olympic sport in which athletes perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. In competition, these can include simple jumps in the straight, pike, tuck, or straddle position to more co ...
* Tumbling
* Parkour
* Handspring
Handspring may refer to:
*Handspring (company), a company that made personal digital assistants
*Handspring (gymnastics), a gymnastics move involving forward or backward rotation of the body
*Rising handspring or nip-up
A nip-up is an acrobatic ...
* Diving
Diving most often refers to:
* Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water
* Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes
Diving or Dive may also refer to:
Sports
* Dive (American football), a ...
* Tumble turn
A tumble turn or flip turn is one of the turns in swimming, used to reverse the direction in which the person is swimming. It is done when the swimmer reaches the end of the swimming pool but still has one or more lengths to swim.
The technique ...
References
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Gymnastics elements