More Gymnastics News

After Stepping up for Team USA, Leanne Wong Pens a Heart-Felt Note for Future

Leanne Wong pens heartfelt note after emerging victor at the World Gymnastics Championships through many obstacles and achievements
World Gymnastics Championships-Liverpool 2022

After Almost Retiring, Shilese Jones Announces $1,000,000 Mission for Noble Cause

Discover how gymnastics star Shilese Jones makes $1M announcement and creating waves with her recent updates on her social media new post.
Gymnastics – Artistic Gymnastics World Championships – Women s Individual All-Around Final Shilese Jones (USA) beam duri

Despite Losing to Rebeca Andrade, Simone Biles Leaves Belgium With Unlikely Supporter From World Artistic Gymnastics Championships

Simone Biles captured bonding with rival and supporter days after fierce battle at the 2023 World Gymnastics Championship in new update
Simone Biles- Rebeca

Unable to Replicate Rising Gymnast’s Move, Simone Biles Stumped in a Light-Hearted Update

Gymnastics legend Simone Biles stumbles upon a floor move in a cordial competition against fellow gymnast following success at 2023 Worlds.

In Light of World Mental Health Day, Stephen A. Smith Unveils the Dual Edges of Sports Fandom on ‘First Take”

World Mental Health Day is here and so is Stephen A. Smith. This time, the host has some words to share for the sporting world.
Stephen A. Smith

Simone Biles Shell Shocked As Non-Gymnast Reproduces Her Signature Routine Amid World Artistic Gymnastics Championships 2023

After taking five medals at Worlds, Simone Biles praises another professional who put up a flawless display of her winning routine.
2023 U.S. Classic

After Supporting Simone Biles Through Anxiety in Antwerp, Jonathan Owens Gives the Gymnastics Legend the Perfect Welcome Home

After being there for Simone Biles through the ups and downs in Antwerp, Jonathan Owens, her husband, welcomes her back in the best way.
Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens

“In My Thoughts & Prayers”: As Mary Lou Continues to Fight for Life, Former Olympian’s Heartfelt Message for the Legendary Gymnast Goes Viral

Joining the gymnastics community in support, former Olympian shares a heartfelt message to Mary Lou after a concerning health update emerges.
U.S. gymnastics Olympic trials are held in St. Louis

“Push Through the Toughest Moments”: Simone Biles Opens Up on Mental Health Days After a Tearful World Artistic Gymnastics Championships 2023

Simone Biles crafts a heartfelt note for supporters after taking podium finishes for most of 2023 World Gymnastics Championship events.

“S*** Happens”: Legendary Gymnasts’ Break Silence on Hilarious Sporting Fails Amid World Artistic Gymnastics Championships 2023

At the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championship, the legendary gymnasts share their most embarrassing moments, and guess who got the gold?

After Allegations of “Disrespectful” Behavior by American Legend, Nike Joins Rising Gymnast Jordan Chiles to Take a Firm Stance for Girls

Despite past allegations against Nike by female athletes for disrespectful behavior, Jordan Chiles has now partnered with the sports brand. 
2022 U.S. Gymnastics Championships

Already Historic, Simone Biles Choses Not to Be Remembered by Her Medals

After her historic win at the World Championships, Simone Biles wishes to be remebered not for her wins, but for her journey.

About Gymnastics

Gymnastics is a collection of physical exercises requiring a lot of strength, agility, balance, and flexibility. It is closely related to circus performing skills as athletes put their bodies to the fullest use. Likewise, there are various disciplines for gymnasts to showcase their talents. Thus, it evolved from ancient Greeks that included skills to mounting to dismounting a horse. The competitive form of gymnastics is called artistic gymnastics. It involves various events for women like the floor, vault, uneven bars, and the beam. For men, they have floor, vault, rings, pommel horse, parallel bars, and horizontal bars. Therefore, the sport is famous for its aesthetic values and the Olympics draws major crowds to the gymnastics arena.

article-image

via Getty

History of Gymnastics

Gymnastics originated from the Greek term, 'to exercise naked,' applied in ancient Greece exercises. These exercises became a mainstay at the Olympics but most of the competition came from ancient roots. There are stone engravings found in Shandong province during the Han Period (206 BCE–220 CE) where they portrayed acrobatics. Like every sport, the person credited for making the sport famous was Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, founder of the Turnverein movement as he helped to spread gymnastics across the world.

Most of the exercises were conducted on the playground. Therefore, various events came into existence. They held the first Gymnastics festival in 1860 in Coburg. The Americans were introduced to Gymnastics in the late 1820s while the Federation Internationale Gymnastique was founded in 1881 to organize the event. The 1896 Olympic Games saw the starting stages of gymnastics being introduced to the world. 

The Sport

There are three divisions of artistic gymnastics- artistic, rhythmic, and trampoline. There are six events for men and the all around event where they combine scores from every discipline. For women, there are four exercises and a similar all around event, both team and individual events. Apart from artistic gymnastics, there is rhythmic gymnastics and is practiced only by women. Trampoline is the other discipline of gymnastics and introduced itself at the 2000 Olympic Games. As years pass by, various gymnasts showcased their athletic skills to the masses in attendance.

article-image

via Getty

Famous gymnasts in the world

Simone Biles:

In terms of pure dominance, Simone Biles enters the list as arguably the greatest gymnast of all time. She is the most decorated gymnast in the World Championships, winning four gold, one silver, and two bronze medals. The 2016 Rio Olympics saw her winning four gold medals and completely dominated the events. She has 25 World Championships medals to her name and her stance on mental health helps her become an influential person in the society.

Larisa Latynina:

Winning nine gold medals at the Olympics is astonishing and Larisa Latynina ranks on top of the famous gymnast charts. After Michael Phelps, she has the most Olympic medals with 18. She popularized the sport of gymnastics and was the first star in the sport. Her iconic performances will go down to the gymnastics folklore.

article-image

via Getty

Nadia Comaneci:

Achieving a perfect 10.0 score in gymnastics is amazing. But, doing it at the Olympics, when just turning 14, placed Nadia Comaneci amongst the pantheon of greats. The 1976 Olympics saw her earning seven perfect scores. She won five Olympic gold medals out of the nine she won.

Svetlana Khorkina:

With a total of 47 Olympic, World and European Championships medals, Svetlana Khorkina is a remarkable gymnast. She became the first gymnast to win three all-around titles at the World Championships while winning five gold medals in the uneven bars at World Championships. Her success in the uneven bars earned her the moniker 'The Queen of Bars.'