The men's horizontal bar 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 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 Boris Shakhlin of the Soviet Union, the nation's first victory in the horizontal bar after two Games with silver and bronze medals. The Soviets also took silver, with Yuri Titov finishing second. Shakhlin and Titov were the fifth and sixth men to win multiple medals in the horizontal bar. Bronze went to Miroslav Cerar of Yugoslavia.
The men's horizontal bar 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 Saturday, July 19, 1924. Seventy-two gymnasts from nine nations competed. The event was won by Leon Štukelj of Yugoslavia, with Jean Gutweninger of Switzerland taking silver and André Higelin of France bronze. It was the first medal in the horizontal bar for each of those nations.
The men's horizontal bar competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. The qualification and final rounds took place on July 27, 29 and August 2 at the Palau dels Esports de Barcelona. There were 93 competitors from 25 nations, with nations in the team event having 6 gymnasts while other nations could have up to 3 gymnasts. The event was won by Trent Dimas of the United States, the nation's first victory in the event since 1932 and fourth gold medal in the horizontal bar overall. Andreas Wecker of Germany earned silver in the nation's return after unification; the first medal for "Germany" in the event since 1952. The Unified Team's Grigory Misutin took bronze.
The men's horizontal bar 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. There were ties for both gold and bronze medals. The Soviet Union took two golds, as Vladimir Artemov and Valeri Liukin finished even at the top spot; they were the Soviets' first gold medals in the horizontal bar since 1968, and moved the Soviet Union past the United States and Switzerland into second most all-time golds in the event. Bronze medals went to Holger Behrendt of East Germany and Marius Gherman of Romania, the first medal in the event for both nations. It was the first time since 1964 that Japanese gymnasts competed but did not win the event.
The men's horizontal bar 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 Mitsuo Tsukahara of Japan, the second man to successfully defend an Olympic title in the horizontal bar. It was the third consecutive victory by a Japanese gymnast in the event, and fifth in six Games. Japan also took silver, as Eizo Kenmotsu finished second, but was prevented from repeating its 1972 podium sweep by new rules that limited nations to two gymnasts in the final. Tsukuhara and Kenmotsu were the seventh and eighth men to win multiple medals in the horizontal bar. Henri Boerio of France and Eberhard Gienger of West Germany tied for bronze, the first medal for France in the event since 1924 and first horizontal bar medal for West Germany.
The men's horizontal bar 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 Shinji Morisue of Japan, continuing the nation's dominant streak where it left off before the 1980 boycott. Morisue scored a perfect 20 in the event ; he was one of only three gymnasts to achieve a perfect 20 on an apparatus during the 20-point era (1952–1988). The gold medal was Japan's sixth on the horizontal bar, all within eight Games. Koji Gushiken added a bronze medal for Japan. The People's Republic of China debuted strongly, with a silver medal from Tong Fei.
The men's horizontal bar competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. The event was held on 22, 24, and 26 October. 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 in a tie between Akinori Nakayama of Japan and Mikhail Voronin of the Soviet Union. Eizo Kenmotsu of Japan took bronze.
The men's horizontal bar competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. 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 Takashi Ono of Japan, with his countryman Masao Takemoto taking bronze. Silver went to Yuri Titov of the Soviet Union. Japan and the Soviet Union each earned their first horizontal bar medals.
The men's parallel bars 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 Viktor Chukarin of the Soviet Union, the nation's first victory in the parallel bars. Japan took three medals: a silver by Masumi Kubota and bronzes by Takashi Ono and Masao Takemoto. It was the third time a nation had won three medals in the event in the same Games: the United States had swept the medals in 1904 and Switzerland had earned a gold and two bronzes in 1948. Chukarin was the third man to win multiple medals in the parallel bars; Ono would become the fourth in 1960.
The men's horizontal bar 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. Scores from the horizontal bar 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 86 gymnasts from 11 nations, with each nation having a team of up to 8 gymnasts. The event was won by Georges Miez of Switzerland, the nation's first victory in the men's horizontal bar. The silver medal went to Romeo Neri of Italy, with Eugen Mack of Switzerland earning bronze.
The men's parallel bars competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics was held at the Waldbühne on 10 and 11 August. It was the sixth appearance of the event. There were 110 competitors from 14 nations, with each nation sending a team of up to 8 men. The event was won by Konrad Frey of Germany, the nation's first victory in the event since 1896. Germany also took the bronze, as Alfred Schwarzmann finished third. Second place and the silver medal went to Michael Reusch of Switzerland. Germany was the first nation to have two gymnasts win the parallel bars.
The men's horizontal bar competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics was held at the Waldbühne on 10 and 11 August. It was the sixth appearance of the event. There were 110 competitors from 14 nations, with each nation sending a team of up to 8 men. The event was won by Aleksanteri Saarvala of Finland, the nation's first victory in the event. Germany took silver and bronze, as Konrad Frey finished second and Alfred Schwarzmann finished third.
The men's artistic individual all-around competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics was held at Earls Court Exhibition Centre on 12 and 13 August. It was the tenth appearance of the event. There were 123 competitors from 16 nations, with each nation sending a team of up to 8 gymnasts. The event was won by Veikko Huhtanen of Finland, the nation's first victory in the men's all-around. Finland also earned bronze, with Paavo Aaltonen finishing third. For the second consecutive Games, Switzerland took silver—this time with Walter Lehmann as the nation's medalist.
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 only 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.
The men's horizontal bar 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 was won by Josef Stalder of Switzerland, with his countryman Walter Lehmann taking silver. It was the nation's second victory in the event, tying the United States for most all-time. Veikko Huhtanen of Finland earned bronze, giving Finland a three-Games podium streak in the event.
The men's parallel bars 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 122 competitors from 16 nations, with each nation sending a team of up to 8 gymnasts. The event was won by Michael Reusch of Switzerland, with his countrymen Christian Kipfer and Josef Stalder tying for bronze. Between the Swiss gymnasts was Veikko Huhtanen of Finland, taking silver. Reusch was the first man to win multiple medals in the event ; Stalder would become the second in 1952. It was Switzerland's second victory in the event, tying Germany for most gold medals.
The men's rings 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 Soviet Union, in its debut in the event, won a medal of every color but did not quite sweep the medals as there was a tie for third. Hrant Shahinyan was the winner, Viktor Chukarin took silver, and Dmytro Leonkin shared bronze with Hans Eugster of Switzerland.
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.
The men's parallel bars competition at the 1952 Summer Olympics was held at Messuhalli, 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 Hans Eugster of Switzerland, the nation's second consecutive and third overall victory in the parallel bars, breaking a tie with Germany for most all-time. Switzerland also took bronze, as Josef Stalder repeated his 1948 third-place performance. The Soviet Union's debut resulted in a silver medal for Viktor Chukarin, who would become the third multi-medalist in 1956.
