Gymnastics Fans Alarmed as IOC’s Gender Parity Threatens Sport’s Olympic Future: “No Easy Solutions”

The call for gender equality in sports has been a longstanding issue, and it’s finally seeing some major changes. The International Olympic Committee recently pushed for ‘full gender parity on the field of play,’ starting with the 2024 Paris Olympics. This includes equal numbers of male and female athletes in every sport, which is a massive step forward. In fact, the IOC distributed quota places equally to male and female athletes, and 28 out of the 32 sports had full gender equality. Even the competition schedule reflected this shift, with 152 women’s events, 157 men’s events, and 20 mixed-gender events.

The opening ceremony also embraced this new direction, with 96% of National Olympic Committee (NOC) delegations selecting one male and one female athlete to carry their country’s flag, like swimmers Florent Manaudou and Mélina Robert-Michon, who took the Olympic oath together. Plus, French Olympic legends Teddy Riner and Marie-José Pérec shared the honor of lighting the Olympic cauldron. Now, while this progress has been largely celebrated, it hasn’t come without some complications. As the gender equity guidelines roll out in full swing, the 2026 Youth Olympic Games will also be required to follow suit.

This is where gymnastics, particularly in the Youth Olympics, finds itself in a bit of a bind. Previously, the artistic gymnastics (ART) program included All-Around and Apparatus finals for both men and women, but the men’s events had 6 apparatus while the women’s had only 4, meaning more medal opportunities for men.

To address this, the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 gymnastics program has made a big shift—reducing the total quota places from 216 to just 120 (60 men and 60 women). This has created frustration and concerns within the community. In order to align with the 50/50 criteria of the IOC, the future of gymnastics could be at risk. The same was addressed in a series of social media posts by an X account named, ‘Pamchenkova’.

It was also observed that No Rhythmic Gymnastics (RG), Trampoline (TRA), or Acrobatic Gymnastics (Acro) disciplines were left out this time. Meanwhile, speaking about the Youth Olympic Games at Dakar, Karl Stross, IOC Member and Chair of the Olympic Programme Commission, expressed his excitement on the same. He touched upon the gender equality issue and mentioned how the YOG 2026 aligns perfectly with the vision. 

While approving the event schedule for Dakar, Stross stated, “The Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 are a testament to collaboration and innovation. The tailored programme, developed with the Dakar 2026 Organising Committee and the IFs, ensures a streamlined, impactful event that prioritises gender equality, meaningful athlete development, and strong ties to the local community. This approach sets the stage for a remarkable celebration of sport and culture.”

Athletes who have trained for disciplines like the RG will suddenly see their hard work go in vain. In frustration, Pamchenkova pointed out, “In previous iterations of the YOG, ART had AA and Apparatus finals but no Team. Because of the discrepancy in medal events between MAG and WAG, they’ve scrapped Apparatus Finals and added a Team event instead. Bc RG is only women and threw the balance off, it’s been scrapped.” And the enthusiast wasn’t alone in feeling the impact! It’s still unclear how this gender equality push is going to play out without damaging the heart of the sport. After all, suddenly scrapping events is a big red flag when it comes to the longevity of the game. Fans, of course, weren’t thrilled by the changes, and they flocked to the comments section to vent their disappointment.

Gymnastics fans are worried as gender equality norms start to clash with the sport’s traditions

As soon as the post went viral, fans couldn’t hold back their concerns. Head straight to the comments section, and you’ll find a bunch of gymnasts and enthusiasts wondering how all of this will be resolved. One fan, for instance, was seriously worried about the removal of apparatus finals, which traditionally gave gymnasts a chance to specialize in specific events like vault or floor and compete for medals.

Without those finals, teams might lean toward all-around gymnasts instead of specialists, cutting opportunities for specialists to shine. As one X user put it, “So no apparatus finals does that mean teams will not select any specialists anymore? That seems unfortunate I enjoyed the apparatus finals and it gave more athletes a chance to win a medal.” They were definitely feeling the loss of diversity in the sport, worrying that many athletes would be denied the chance to show off their unique skills.

But then, Pamchenkova swooped in with some much-needed clarity, letting the gymnastics world know that these changes were only for the Youth Olympics in 2026. “This is only for Youth Olympic Games!” they said. Fans breathed a collective sigh of relief. One responded, “Oh thank you I’m glad the Olympics still has event finals.” Then there was another fan, who took a deeper dive into the IOC’s gender parity push.

This commenter proposed that reducing Men’s Artistic Gymnastics (MAG) from six apparatuses to four would make it equal to Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG). Simple, right? But as they put it, “There are no easy solutions. Lopping off two MAG apparatuses is the “easiest” option in that it can be done overnight, but that is radical and no one would be in favour of that.” It’s a pretty drastic suggestion, and honestly, who could blame MAG fans for resisting such a big change?

One more gymnastics enthusiast shared their mixed feelings about the situation, saying, “It’s concerning & important to be discussing about. I get gender equality but taking away events is disappointing.” They get the whole gender parity thing, but taking away events that have been part of gymnastics’ DNA? Definitely a tough pill to swallow. This sentiment hit home for a lot of fans, reflecting fears that trying to fix the gender imbalance might actually undo some of the sport’s tradition and richness.

But then, in a twist of relief, another fan shared their thoughts: “Thankfully, this is only going to affect the YOG and not the bigger senior competitions. I understand that the aim is to achieve gender equality, but I really don’t believe that scrapping apparatus finals is the way to do it.” They understood the goal of gender equality but didn’t think axing apparatus finals was the right way to go. It’s clear that while fans support equality, they’re not entirely on board with sacrificing what makes gymnastics so dynamic. Even if the changes are only for the juniors, the thought of upsetting the sport’s traditions remains a serious concern.