Gymnastics is a sport that includes physical 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. Gymnastics evolved from exercises used by the ancient Greeks that included skills for mounting and dismounting a horse and from circus performance skills.
The men's individual all-around, also known as the heptathlon, was one of two gymnastics events on the Gymnastics at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. As suggested by the alternate name, the competition included seven events with the scores summed to give a final score. Each nation could enter up to 20 fencers, with France and Great Britain each entering the maximum. A total of 97 gymnasts from 12 nations competed.
The men's pommel horse 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 22 October. There were 128 competitors from 29 nations, with nations in the team competition having up to 6 gymnasts and other nations entering up to 3 gymnasts. The event was won by Miroslav Cerar of Yugoslavia, the nation's first medal in the pommel horse. Silver went to Shuji Tsurumi of Japan, the third man to win multiple medals in the event. Yury Tsapenko of the Soviet Union took bronze, breaking a three-Games gold medal streak for the Soviets.
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 vault was an artistic gymnastics event held as part of the gymnastics at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. It was only the second time that the event was held at the Olympics. An unknown number of gymnasts competed, only five are known. The competition was held on Friday, October 28, 1904.
The men's combined was an artistic gymnastics event held as part of the Gymnastics at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. It was the second time a combined apparatus event was held at the Olympics, though the previous incarnation was more similar to the all-around turnverein featured simultaneously with the combined. The format of the combined, however, was the basis for later all-around type events.
The men's triathlon was an artistic gymnastics event held as part of the Gymnastics at the 1904 Summer Olympics programme. It was the only time the 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 men's pommel horse 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 third time after 1896 and 1904. The competition was held on Wednesday, July 23, 1924. Seventy gymnasts from nine nations competed, with each nation having an 8-gymnast team. The event was won by Josef Wilhelm of Switzerland, the nation's second victory in the event. With Swiss gymnasts Jean Gutweninger and Antoine Rebetez taking silver and bronze, respectively, it was the second consecutive appearance of the event in which the event's medals were swept.
The men's vault 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 third time after 1896 and 1904. The competition was held on Monday, July 21, 1924. Seventy gymnasts from nine nations competed. The eight members of each nation's gymnastics team all competed; Czechoslovakia only had six competitors start the vault. The event was won by Frank Kriz of the United States, the nation's second consecutive victory in the event. Jan Koutný and Bohumil Mořkovský of Czechoslovakia took silver and bronze, respectively, the nation's first medals in the event.
The men's pommel horse event was part of the gymnastics programme at the 1932 Summer Olympics. It was contested for the fifth time after 1896, 1904, 1924, and 1928. The competition was held on Thursday, August 11, 1932. Ten gymnasts from five nations competed. Each nation was limited to three gymnasts. The event was won by István Pelle of Hungary, the nation's first medal in the pommel horse. Italy also earned its first medal in the event, with Omero Bonoli's silver. Frank Haubold took bronze, the United States' first medal in the event since 1904.
The men's vault or "long horse vaulting" event was part of the gymnastics programme at the 1932 Summer Olympics. It was contested for the fifth time after 1896, 1904, 1924, and 1928. The competition was held on Wednesday, August 10, 1932. Ten gymnasts from four nations competed. Each nation was limited to three gymnasts. The event was won by Savino Guglielmetti of Italy, the nation's first medal in the event. Americans Al Jochim and Ed Carmichael took silver and bronze, respectively.
The men's pommel horse event was part of the gymnastics programme at the 1928 Summer Olympics. It was one of seven gymnastics events for men and it was contested for the fourth time after 1896, 1904, and 1924. The competition was held on Wednesday, August 8, 1928. Eighty-eight gymnasts from eleven nations competed, with each nation having a team of 8 gymnasts. The event was won by Hermann Hänggi of Switzerland, the nation's second consecutive victory in the pommel horse. The Swiss nearly repeated their 1924 medal sweep, with 4 of the top 5, but Finland's Heikki Savolainen took bronze between silver medalist Georges Miez and fourth-place finisher Edi Steinemann. It was Finland's first medal in the event.
The men's pommel horse competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. The event was held from 22 to 26 October at the Auditorio Nacional. There were 115 competitors from 27 nations, with nations in the team competition having up to 6 gymnasts and other nations entering up to 3 gymnasts. The event was won by Miroslav Cerar of Yugoslavia, the second man to successfully defend an Olympic pommel horse title. Olli Laiho of Finland took silver, while Mikhail Voronin of the Soviet Union finished with bronze. Japan's three-Games podium streak in the event ended, while the Soviet streak stretched to five Games.
The men's pommel horse 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 128 competitors from 28 nations, with nations in the team competition having up to 6 gymnasts and other nations entering up to 2 gymnasts. There was a tie for first place in the vault. Boris Shakhlin of the Soviet Union and Eugen Ekman of Finland each received a gold medal. It was the third consecutive Games with a gold medal for the Soviets, as Shakhlin became the first man to successfully repeat as Olympic champion in the event. Ekman's medal was the only medal in men's artistic gymnastics in 1960 that did not go to the Soviet Union or Japan. Third place and the bronze medal went to Japan's Shuji Tsurumi.
The men's vault competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. It was held from 3 to 7 December at the Melbourne Festival Hall. There were 63 competitors from 18 nations, with nations in the team competition having up to 6 gymnasts and other nations entering up to 3 gymnasts. The event was won by Helmut Bantz of the United Team of Germany and Valentin Muratov of the Soviet Union, who tied for the top place. Soviet Yuri Titov finished third to win the bronze medal.
The men's pommel horse competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. It was held from 3 to 7 December at the Melbourne Festival Hall. There were 63 competitors from 18 nations, with nations in the team competition having up to 6 gymnasts and other nations entering up to 3 gymnasts. The event was won by Boris Shakhlin of the Soviet Union, the nation's second consecutive victory in the pommel horse. Takashi Ono earned Japan's first medal in the event with his silver. Soviet Viktor Chukarin became the first man to win multiple medals in the pommel horse, adding a bronze to his 1952 gold.
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 pommel horse competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics was held at Earls Court Exhibition Centre on 12 and 13 August. It was the seventh appearance of the event. There were 121 competitors from 16 nations, with each nation sending a team of up to 8 gymnasts. The event ended in a three-way tie for the gold medal, with all three winners from Finland: Paavo Aaltonen, Veikko Huhtanen, and Heikki Savolainen. It was the third time the medals had been swept in the event. Another three-way tie would occur in 1988. It was Finland's first victory in the event, and first medal since 1928.
The men's pommel horse competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics was held at Töölö Sports Hall, Exhibition Hall I from 19 to 21 July. It was the eighth appearance of the event. There were 185 competitors from 29 nations, with each nation sending up to 8 gymnasts. The event was won by Viktor Chukarin as the Soviet Union swept the medals in its debut. It was the fourth medal sweep in the event, and last before apparatus finals with a two-gymnast-per-nation limit made further sweeps impossible. Yevgeny Korolkov and Hrant Shahinyan tied for silver.
The men's vault competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics was held at Töölö Sports Hall, Exhibition Hall I from 19 to 21 July. It was the eighth appearance of the event. There were 185 competitors from 29 nations, with nations competing in the team event entering up to 8 gymnasts and other nations able to send up to 3. The event was won by Viktor Chukarin of the Soviet Union, the nation's first medal in the event in its first appearance. Japan also earned its first medal(s): a silver and two bronzes, as Masao Takemoto finished second and there was a tie for third between Takashi Ono and Tadao Uesako.
