On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the
International Federation of Gymnastics
The International Gymnastics Federation (French language, French: ''Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique'', abbr. FIG) is the body governing competition in all disciplines of gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It wa ...
which was founded in 1881, a commemorative competition was held in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, on July 11 & 12, in conjunction with that year's
Bastille Day
Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. It is referred to, both legally and commonly, as () in French, though ''la fête nationale'' is also u ...
.
There seems to be a history of inconsistency from the FIG regarding whether these 1931 games are considered to be a World Championships. About these games, it is written in a 100-year Anniversary publication, that ''Following "agreements, objections, and discussions" this manifestation was called "World Championships"''.,
however on the following page of that same publication, it is stated ''"Logically, the manifestations of the 50th anniversary of the FIG cannot be placed among the official competitions"'',.
Additionally, in a 125-year Anniversary Publication, it is said about these games ''"Premiers concours sous l’appellation Championnats du Monde de Gymnastique artistique masculine a Paris."'',
yet they were referred to as ''"unofficial"''
and their results were omitted from the results section of that book.
As it currently stands (as of as recently as 2021), about these games in 1931, the
FIG
The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of tree or shrub in the flowering plant family Moraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, together with western and southern Asia. It has been cultivated since ancient times and i ...
states ''“1931 First Artistic Men's World Championships held in Paris.”''
44 individuals from 10 nations participated in this competition. 14 events were contested. Individual rankings were determined.
Men's individual all around
Rankings
Medalists
There was a special clause to the rules that in order for any individual to be properly termed 'World Champion', they had to demonstrate a certain level of competency among all 14 events, scoring at least 60% of all of the points that could be possibly awarded on each event. Therefore, the highest-ranking gymnast,
Heikki Savolainen of
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
did not actually end up becoming World Champion; rather, 2nd-place finishing
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 Ol ...
of
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, who was the only individual to score at least 60% on all 14 events, ended up becoming 'World Champion' at this competition.
Men's floor exercise
Men's rings
Men's vault
Men's parallel bars
Men's horizontal bar
References
{{World gym champs
World Artistic Gymnastics Championships