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.
The men's vault was a gymnastics event contested as part of the Gymnastics at the 1964 Summer Olympics programme at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. The event was held on 18, 20, and 23 October. There were 130 competitors from 30 nations, with nations in the team competition having up to 6 gymnasts and other nations entering up to 3 gymnasts. For the first time in three Games, there was a clear winner with no tie. Haruhiro Yamashita took the gold medal, the second consecutive gold for Japan. Victor Lisitsky finished second, taking silver but breaking the Soviet Union's three-Games gold medal streak. Hannu Rantakari's bronze was Finland's first medal in the event since 1948.
The men's artistic individual all-around was an artistic gymnastics event held as part of the gymnastics programme at the 1904 Summer Olympics. It was the second time an all-around event was held at the Olympics. The competition was held on Friday, July 1, 1904 and on Saturday, July 2, 1904. One hundred and nineteen gymnasts from three nations competed. The event was won by Julius Lenhart, an Austrian gymnast living in the United States and competing under the auspices of his Philadelphia-based club. Silver went to Wilhelm Weber of Germany, with bronze to Adolf Spinnler of Switzerland. They were the first medals in the event for each of those nations, as France had swept the medals in 1900.
The men's artistic individual all-around event was part of the gymnastics programme at the 1924 Summer Olympics. It was one of nine gymnastics events and it was contested for the sixth time. The competition was held from Thursday, 17 July 1924, to Wednesday, 23 July 1924. Seventy-two gymnasts from nine nations competed. Each nation could send up to 8 gymnasts, up from 6 in previous Games. For the first time since 1904, the scores for individual competitors were used to calculate a team score. The men's artistic individual all-around was won by Leon Štukelj of Yugoslavia. Czechoslovakia's Robert Pražák took silver, while Bedřich Šupčík earned bronze. Both nations were making their debut in the event.
The men's artistic individual all-around event was part of the gymnastics programme at the 1932 Summer Olympics. It was the eighth appearance of the event, which was established in 1900. The competition was held from Monday, August 8, 1932, to Wednesday, August 10, 1932. Twenty-four gymnasts from five nations competed. Each nation could enter a team of 5 gymnasts; Hungary sent only 4. The event was won by Romeo Neri of Italy, the nation's first victory in the event since 1920 and fourth overall. István Pelle of Hungary took silver and Heikki Savolainen of Finland earned bronze; it was the first medal in the event for each nation.
The men's pommel horse competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. The qualification and final rounds took place on September 18, 20 and 24th at the Olympic Gymnastics Hall. There were 89 competitors from 23 nations, with nations competing in the team event having 6 gymnasts and other nations having up to 3 gymnasts. For the second time, the event ended in a three-way tie for first place. Dmitry Bilozerchev of the Soviet Union, Zsolt Borkai of Hungary, and Lubomir Geraskov of Bulgaria each received a gold medal. It was Bulgaria's first medal in the pommel horse. Hungary had its third gold medal in four Games, with Zoltán Magyar winning in 1976 and 1980 before the nation was part of the Soviet-led boycott in 1984. The Soviets had had an eight-Games medal streak in the event snapped by that boycott; Bilozerchev's medal put the nation back on the podium after that one-Games absence.
The men's rings competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. The qualification and final rounds took place on September 18, 20, and 24th at the Olympic Gymnastics Hall. There were 89 competitors from 23 nations, with nations competing in the team event having 6 gymnasts and other nations having up to 3 gymnasts. For the second consecutive Games, the event ended in a way tie for first place. Dmitry Bilozerchev of the Soviet Union and Holger Behrendt of East Germany each received a gold medal. It was East Germany's first medal in the rings. The Soviets had had an eight-Games medal streak in the event snapped by their boycott of the 1984 Games; Bilozerchev's medal put the nation back on the podium after that one-Games absence. Sven Tippelt, also of East Germany, took bronze.
The men's vault competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. The qualification and final rounds took place on September 18, 20 and 24th at the Olympic Gymnastics Hall. There were 89 competitors from 23 nations, with nations competing in the team event having 6 gymnasts and other nations having up to 3 gymnasts. The event was won by Lou Yun of China, the second man to successfully defend an Olympic title in the vault and fourth man to win two medals of any color in the event. Sylvio Kroll of East Germany took the silver medal, while Park Jong-hoon of South Korea earned his nation's first men's vault medal with his bronze.
The men's individual all-around competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The qualification and final rounds took place on 27, 29 and 30 August at the Sports Hall. There were 113 competitors from 26 nations. Each nation could send a team of 6 gymnasts or up to 3 individual gymnasts. The event was won by Sawao Kato of Japan, the third man to successfully defend an Olympic title in the event; it was Japan's third consecutive victory in the event. The Japanese gymnasts swept the medals, with Eizo Kenmotsu earning silver and Akinori Nakayama. Kato and Nakayama, who had also taken bronze in 1968, were the eighth and ninth men to win multiple medals overall in the event. It was the first medal sweep in the event since France did it in the first edition in 1900. This broke the Soviet Union's five-Games medal streak, with their best gymnast finishing fourth.
These are the results of the men's vault competition, one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The qualification and final rounds took place on August 27, 29 and September 1 at the Olympiahalle. There were 111 competitors from 26 nations ; nations entering the team event had 6 gymnasts while other nations could have up to 3 gymnasts. The event was won by Klaus Köste of East Germany, the nation's first victory in the men's vault. The Soviets took silver and bronze, respectively, from Viktor Klimenko and Nikolai Andrianov respectively.
The men's horizontal bar competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The qualification and final rounds took place on August 27, 29 and September 1 at the Olympiahalle. There were 113 competitors from 26 nations; nations entering the team event had 6 gymnasts while other nations could have up to 3 gymnasts. Japan reached the height of its success in the event this year, thoroughly dominating the event by taking the top five places. Mitsuo Tsukahara was the winner, with Sawao Kato second and Shigeru Kasamatsu third. Japan had now won the event in four of the last five Games. The only finalist from outside Japan was Nikolai Andrianov of the Soviet Union.
The men's parallel bars competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The qualification and final rounds took place on August 27, 29 and September 1 at the Olympiahalle. There were 112 competitors from 26 nations ; nations entering the team event had 6 gymnasts while other nations could have up to 3 gymnasts. Japan reached the height of its success in the event this year: putting four men into the six-man final and sweeping the medals. Sawao Kato earned Japan's third consecutive gold medal in the parallel bars, tying Switzerland for most golds all-time; Kato would break that tie in 1976 with his second gold medal. Shigeru Kasamatsu took silver while Eizo Kenmotsu earned bronze.
These are the results of the men's pommel horse competition, one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. The qualification and final rounds took place on August 27, 29 and September 1 at the Sports Hall. There were 111 competitors from 26 nations ; nations entering the team event had 6 gymnasts while other nations could have up to 3 gymnasts. The event was won by Viktor Klimenko of the Soviet Union, the nation's fourth victory in the men's pommel horse. Sawao Kato (silver) and Eizo Kenmotsu (bronze) returned Japan to the pommel horse podium after a one-Games absence.
The men's vault competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. The qualification and final rounds took place on July 18, 20, and 23rd at the Montreal Forum. There were 90 competitors from 20 nations, with nations competing in the team event having 6 gymnasts while other nations could have up to 3 gymnasts. The event was won by Nikolai Andrianov of the Soviet Union, the nation's fifth gold medal in the men's vault; it was the seventh consecutive Games that the Soviets had a gymnast place in the top two. Andrianov became the third man to win multiple vault medals, adding to his 1972 bronze. Japan returned to the vault podium after a one-Games absence, with Mitsuo Tsukahara taking silver and Hiroshi Kajiyama bronze.
The men's vault competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The qualification and final rounds took place on July 20, 22 and 25th at the Luzhniki Palace of Sports. There were 65 competitors from 14 nations, with nations competing in the team event having 6 gymnasts while other nations could have to up to 3 gymnasts. The event was won by Nikolai Andrianov of the Soviet Union, the first man to successfully defend an Olympic title in the vault. Andrianov was also the first man to win a third medal in the event, with a bronze in 1972 along with his 1976 and 1980 gold medals. For the eighth consecutive Games, the Soviets had a gymnast in the top two in vault; this time, they had both the top two, as Alexander Dityatin took silver. Roland Brückner of East Germany earned bronze.
The men's vault competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The qualification and final rounds took place on July 29, 31 and August 4 at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion. There were 71 competitors from 19 nations, with nations competing in the team event having 6 gymnasts while other nations could have to up to 3 gymnasts. The event was won by Lou Yun of China, in the nation's debut in the Games.
The men's vault competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. It was held on 5, 7, and 10 September at the Baths of Caracalla. There were 129 competitors from 28 nations, with nations in the team competition having up to 6 gymnasts and other nations entering up to 2 gymnasts. For the second straight Games, there was a tie for first place in the vault. Boris Shakhlin of the Soviet Union and Takashi Ono of Japan each received a gold medal. It was the third consecutive Games with a gold medal for the Soviets. Ono, who had taken bronze in 1952, became the second man to win multiple vault medals. Third place and the bronze medal went to Soviet Vladimir Portnoi.
The men's vault event was part of the gymnastics programme at the 1928 Summer Olympics held in Amsterdam. It was one of seven gymnastics events for men and it was contested for the fourth time after 1896, 1904, and 1924. Scores from the vault event were added to the results from other individual apparatus events to give aggregate scores for the individual and team all-around events. There were 85 competitors from 11 nations. Each nation had a team of 8 gymnasts; three of the 88 men did not start. The event was won by Eugen Mack of Switzerland, the nation's first victory in the event and first medal since 1896. Emanuel Löffler gave Czechoslovakia its second consecutive silver medal. Stane Derganc's bronze was Yugoslavia's first medal in the event.
The men's artistic individual all-around event was part of the gymnastics programme at the 1928 Summer Olympics. It was one of seven gymnastics events for men and was the seventh Olympic men's all-around gymnastic championship. Scores from the individual apparatus events were added to give aggregate scores for the individual all-around; individual all-around scores were similarly summed for the team all-around event. There were 88 competitors from 11 nations. Each nation sent a team of 8 gymnasts. The event was won by Georges Miez of Switzerland, with his countryman Hermann Hänggi taking silver. They were the first medals in the event for Swiss gymnasts since 1904 and the first gold medal ever for a Swiss man in the individual all-around. Defending Olympic champion Leon Štukelj of Yugoslavia finished with the bronze this time, making him the third man to win multiple medals in the event.
The men's artistic individual all-around competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics was held at Messuhalli, Exhibition Hall I from 19 to 21 July. It was the eleventh appearance of the event. There were 185 competitors from 29 nations. Each nation entered a team of between five and eight gymnasts or up to three individual gymnasts. The event was won by Viktor Chukarin of the Soviet Union, with his countryman Hrant Shahinyan taking silver. It was the Soviet debut in the event, beginning four decades of dominance rivalled only by Japan and ending after the dissolution of the Soviet Union; the Soviets would win 6 of the 10 editions from 1952 to 1988, with Japan taking the other 4. Bronze in 1952 went to Josef Stalder of Switzerland ; it was the last medal in the men's all-around for any gymnast not from the Soviet Union or Japan until 1980.
