Olympic Sport Preview - Artistic Gymnastics
Artistic gymnastics was the term used to distinguish free flowing gymnastics from the more rigid gymnastic disciplines for the first time in the 19th century.
However, gymnastics has featured since the Ancient Greek Games and was part of the first games of the modern era in 1896. As an Olympic sport it has
been in the games since the games in Amsterdam in 1928.
There are some incredible stories from the sport and we may never see the likes of them again like Nadia Comaneci’s and Nellie Kim's perfect 10’s at
the 1976 Montreal Games, aged 14. However, there are a lot of amazing gymnasts today like Simone Biles who at only 19 has already become the first
women to win three consecutive World all round titles amongst others. However, it is safe to say no one will come close to Larissa Latynina who
won 18 Olympic medals between 1956 and 1964!
Artistic gymnastics is where athletes perform short routines, between 30-90 seconds on various apparatus. This sport may be about strength, flexibility
and balance, but is ultimately about making everything look simple and showing the judges that are scoring the athlete poise and grace. The score
is given by nine judges, who assess the level of difficulty and the technical quality of the movements performed in each event. There are six medal
events:
Balance beam
Floor exercises
Individual all-round
Team competition
Uneven bars
Vault
The Rio Olympic Arena will host the Artistic Gymnastics between the 6-16th of August.