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Artistic Gymnastics

First Olympic Appearance: 1896 (men); 1928 (women)

by Mike Morrison

Always one of the most popular summer Olympic sports, gymnastics has given us some of our most memorable moments and personalities in recent Olympic history.

Did You Know? The word gymnastics comes from the Greek word gymnos, meaning naked, and referring to the dress code (or lack thereof) of the athletes back in ancient Greece.

In 1972, Russia's Olga Korbut helped take our minds off the horrors going on in Munich and in Vietnam. In 1976, Romania's Nadia Comaneci recorded the first perfect score in Olympic gymnastics history, then proceeded to record six more for good measure. In 1984, American Mary Lou Retton dazzled us with her smile and spunk, and in 1996, it was the "Magnificent Seven" and Kerri Strug's gutsy vault that ensured the gold for the United States.

While rhythmic gymnastics are performed with an apparatus (ropes, hoops, balls, etc.), artistic gymnastics are performed on an apparatus. Men compete in six different events—floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars, and horizontal bars, while women compete in four—floor, balance beam, vault, and uneven bars. There is also an all-around competition for each gender.

Performances are rated by two panels of judges—one panel consisting of two judges that rate the difficulty of the performance, and the other panel with six judges that rate the athletes' form and technical execution.

The competition in Athens will consist of 98 men and 98 women. China, Ukraine, and Russia took the men's team medals in Sydney, while the women's team medallists were Romania, Russia, and China. The surprise of the 2003 artistic gymnastics world championships was the United States women's team taking home the U.S.'s first world championship title and Team USA as a whole earning a whopping five gold medals in the competition. China's men took the team gold, but American Paul Hamm grabbed the all-around prize. The United States Olympic Trials are in Anaheim in late June.

[The artistic gymnastics competition will be held in the 15,000-seat Olympic Indoor Hall at the Athens Olympic Sports Complex from Aug. 14 to 23.]

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