More Gymnastics News

Simone Biles’s Coach Who Was Told She Would “Fail” While Leaving France Credits Gymnastics GOAT for Opening Her Eyes

In a recent interview, coach Cecile Landi revealed how training with gymnast Simone Biles made her realize the importance of mental health.

“Guys Jaw Dropping in the Background”: Gymnastics World Left in Awe of Jordan Chiles’ Near-Perfect Double Layout Landing

21-year-old World champion and Olympics medalist, Jordan Chiles, leaves the gymnastics world mesmerized with her effortless performance.
2021 U.S. Olympic Trials – Gymnastics – Day 2

Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens Say Goodbye to Their Wedding Bands for a While

Gymnastic GOAT Simone Biles and fiance Jonathan Owens, have boxed their wedding rings away, as they wait for the "big day" to arrive.
2022 World Series Game 1: Philadelphia Phillies v. Houston Astros

When Did Simone Biles Start Gymnastics?

At the age of 25, Simone Biles is called the Queen of Gymnastics. However, the road to success wasn't a smooth one for Biles to travel.
Superstars of Gymnastics

Simone Biles Surprises Young Fans at Her Invitational Event

Gymnastics GOAT and Olympic gold medalist, Simone Biles’ fans go crazy as they get to meet their role model at the gymnastics meet.
Simone Biles

“Protect Him at All Costs”: Simone Biles Wins Hearts by Her Gesture Towards Father

Gymnastics Queen Simone Biles shares an adorable message about her father on her Instagram story which is bound win hearts.
simone biles

“Look to Both Her and My Dad as Role Models”: Ahead of Her Wedding, Simone Biles Finds Her Benchmark in Parents Love Story

Ahead of tying the knot with fiancé, Olympic legend, Simone Biles opened up about her relationship idols.

“Stop Playin With Her” : Jonathan Owens Flaunts Simone Biles Head-To-Toe Look For Her Invitational Event

NFL star Jonathan Owens praises gymnastics champion and fiance Simone Biles amazing look ahead of a special invitational event.
2022 World Series Game 1: Philadelphia Phillies v. Houston Astros

“Couldn’t Be More Grateful”: Simone Biles Pays Gratitude to Her Mother in the Most Adorable Way

In a recent interview, Simone Biles talked about her gratitude for her mother, and how she looks up to her mom for support and advice.
Simone Biles

“I’m Obsessed and Will Be Back”: Date Night With Jonathan Owens Turns Into Simone Biles’ Best Experience

Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and NFL star player steps out for a date-night. The bride-to-be shares updates about her new obsession.

“Didn’t Want to Disrupt the Class”: Gymnastics Goat Simone Biles Gives Houston Citizens an Exciting Surprise

Gymnastics GOAT and Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles talks about her mother's excitement surrounding her wedding, shares details.
Simone Biles

Ahead of Her Wedding With Jonathan Owens, Simone Biles Sends a Subtle Warning to Groomsmen

Amidst wedding preparations, Simone Biles has shared an important message with fiance Jonathan Owens's groomsmen, and it is serious.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.'