Gymnastics is a sport that includes exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shoulders, back, chest and abdominal muscle groups. Alertness, precision, daring, self-confidence and self-discipline are mental traits that can also be developed through gymnastics. Gymnastics evolved from exercises used by the ancient Greeks that included skills for mounting and dismounting a horse, and from circus performance skills
Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses, with less time for vaulting. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the code of points and regulates all aspects of international elite competition. Within individual countries, gymnastics is regulated by national federations, such as Gymnastics Canada, British Gymnastics, and USA Gymnastics. Artistic gymnastics is a popular spectator sport at many competitions, including the Summer Olympic Games.
At the 2000 Summer Olympics, three different gymnastics disciplines were contested: artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline. The artistic gymnastics and trampoline events were held at the Sydney SuperDome on 16–25 September and 22–23 September, respectively. The rhythmic gymnastics events were held at Pavilion 3 of the Sydney Olympic Park on 28 September – 1 October.
At the 1996 Summer Olympics, two different gymnastics disciplines were contested: artistic gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics. The artistic gymnastics events were held at the Georgia Dome from July 20–25 and July 28–29. The rhythmic gymnastics events were held at Stegeman Coliseum in nearby Athens, on the campus of the University of Georgia from August 1–4.
At the 1980 Summer Olympics, fourteen different artistic gymnastics events were contested, eight for men and six for women. All events were held at the Sports Palace of the Central Lenin Stadium in Moscow from July 20 through 25th. Several teams who had qualified to compete were absent as a result of the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott, including the United States, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, and West Germany.
At the 1984 Summer Olympics, two different gymnastics disciplines were contested. In addition to the fourteen artistic gymnastics events contested, for the first time at the Olympics, a rhythmic gymnastics event was contested–the women's individual all-around. All of the gymnastics events were held at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles from July 29 through August 11. Several teams who had qualified to compete were absent as a result of the 1984 Summer Olympics boycott, including the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, and North Korea.
At the 1988 Summer Olympics, two different gymnastics disciplines were contested: artistic gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics. The artistic gymnastics events were held at the Olympic Gymnastics Hall in Seoul from September 18 through 25th. The rhythmic gymnastics events were held at the same venue from September 28 through 30th.
At the 1992 Summer Olympics, two different gymnastics were contested: artistic gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics. The artistic gymnastics events were held at the Palau Sant Jordi from July 26 through August 2. The rhythmic gymnastics event were held at the Palau dels Esports de Barcelona from August 6 through 8th.
The 30th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held at Sun Dome Fukui in Sabae, Japan in 1995.
Kōhei Uchimura is a Japanese gymnast. He is a seven-time Olympic medalist, winning three golds and four silvers, a nineteen-time World medalist and considered by many in the sport to be the greatest gymnast of all time. He is known for being the first gymnast to win every major all-around title in an entire single Olympic cycle, accomplishing this feat twice by winning six world and two Olympic individual all-around titles. Uchimura is also 2008 Olympic individual all-around silver medalist. He is also known for delivering difficult and accurately executed routines. The International Gymnast Magazine had praised his skills as a "combination of tremendous difficulty, supreme consistency and extraordinary elegance of performance."
The 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships was held at the Ahoy Rotterdam indoor sporting arena in the Netherlands from 16 to 24 October 2010. In this year's championships, there was a total of 73 participating federations with 615 gymnasts. 53 men's and 44 women's teams competed.
Kristian James Thomas is a British former artistic gymnast. A long-standing member of both the England and Great Britain men's teams, he was a member of the British team that won gold in the 2012 European Championships team event, and a historic bronze in the same event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He won his first global individual medal in the 2013 World Championships, a bronze in vault; it was also the first global medal ever won in vault by a British male gymnast. In 2015 he won his first major international title, gold in the floor exercise at the 2015 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
The 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held in Tokyo, Japan, from October 7–16, 2011, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. Due to uncertainty over the nuclear situation following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the International Federation of Gymnastics revealed it was considering moving the event, but on May 22 FIG president Bruno Grandi announced that the World Championships would take place in Tokyo as planned.
Three gymnastics disciplines were contested at the 2012 Olympic Games in London: artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics and trampolining. The trampoline events were held at the North Greenwich Arena from 3 to 4 August; the artistic events were also held at the North Greenwich Arena, from 28 July to 7 August. The rhythmic gymnastics events took place at Wembley Arena from 9 to 12 August.
The final of the women's artistic team all-around competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics was held at the North Greenwich Arena, London on 31 July 2012. Eight teams of five gymnasts competed in the final from a total of twelve teams which have qualified for the Games.
The final of the men's artistic gymnastics team all-around competition at the 2012 Olympic Games was held at the North Greenwich Arena on 30 July. Eight teams of five gymnasts competed from a total of twelve teams which had qualified for the Games.
The 4th Seniors Rhythmic Gymnastics Asian Championships was held in Astana, Kazakhstan during 15 – 18 October 2009.
Denis Mikhailovich Ablyazin is a Russian artistic gymnast. He is a five-time medalist at the Olympic Games, At the 2012 London Olympics he won silver in vault and bronze in floor. At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, he won silver with the Russian men's team, a silver in vault and bronze in rings.
The 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships was held in Nanning, China at the Guangxi Gymnasium from 3–12 October 2014. The competition was the fourth time a World Artistic Gymnastics Championships has been held in the continent of Asia.
The Men's artistic team all-around competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics was held on 8 August 2016 at the HSBC Arena.
