The men's parallel bars 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 Yukio Endo of Japan, the nation's first victory in the parallel bars after two Games with silver and bronze medals. It was the first of a four-Games gold medal streak for Japanese gymnasts in the event. Japan also took silver, with Shuji Tsurumi finishing second. Bronze went to Franco Menichelli of Italy.
The men's parallel bars competition was one of eight events for male competitors of the artistic gymnastics discipline contested in the gymnastics at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. The qualification and final rounds took place on August 14 and August 23 at the Olympic Indoor Hall. There were 81 competitors from 31 nations, with nations competing in the team event having up to 5 gymnasts and other nations having up to 2 gymnasts. The event was won by Valeriy Honcharov of Ukraine, the nation's second victory in the parallel bars. Hiroyuki Tomita took silver, putting Japan above the Soviet Union on the all-time medal table for the event. Li Xiaopeng of China became the seventh man to win multiple parallel bars medals with his bronze adding to his 2000 gold.
The men's rings competition was one of eight events for male competitors of the artistic gymnastics discipline contested in the gymnastics at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. The qualification and final rounds took place on August 14 and August 22 at the O.A.C.A. Olympic Indoor Hall. There were 77 competitors from 28 nations, with nations competing in the team event having up to 5 gymnasts and other nations having up to 2 gymnasts. The event was won by Dimosthenis Tampakos of Greece, the nation's first victory in the rings since 1896 and second overall. Yordan Yovchev of Bulgaria took silver, while Jury Chechi of Italy earned bronze. All three men had previously won a medal in the event; they were the 9th, 10th, and 11th men to win multiple rings medals.
The men's parallel bars competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held on August 9 and 19 at the Beijing National Indoor Stadium. The eight competitors with the highest scores in qualifying proceeded to the men's parallel bars finals. There, each gymnast performed again; the scores from the final round determined the final ranking. There were 75 competitors from 27 nations that competed on the parallel bars, with nations in the team event entering up to 5 gymnasts while other nations could enter up to 2. The event was won by Li Xiaopeng of China, the first man to win three medals in the parallel bars as well as the first man to win two non-consecutive gold medals in the same apparatus. Yoo Won-Chul of South Korea took silver. Anton Fokin won Uzbekistan's first parallel bars medal in its debut as an independent nation.
The men's vault competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The qualification and final rounds took place on September 16 and 25 at the Sydney SuperDome. There were 80 competitors from 31 nations; nations competing in the team event could have up to 5 gymnasts in the vault, while other nations could have up to 2 gymnasts. The event was won by Gervasio Deferr of Spain, the nation's first medal in the men's vault. Poland also earned its first medal in the event, with Leszek Blanik's bronze. Silver went to Alexei Bondarenko of Russia.
The men's parallel bars competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The qualification and final rounds took place on September 16 and 25 at the Sydney Super Dome. There were 81 competitors from 30 nations; nations competing in the team event could have up to 5 gymnasts in the vault, while other nations could have up to 2 gymnasts. The event was won by Li Xiaopeng of China, the nation's first victory in the parallel bars. Lee Joo-Hyung earned South Korea's first medal in the event with his silver. Russia also received its first medal since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, with Alexei Nemov's bronze.
The men's vault competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The qualification and final rounds took place on July 20, 22 and 29th at the Georgia Dome. There were 105 competitors from 31 nations, with nations in the team event having up to 7 gymnasts and other nations having up to 3 gymnasts. The event was won by Alexei Nemov of Russia, the nation's first victory in the men's vault after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Yeo Hong-Chul gave South Korea its third consecutive podium appearance in the event, this time with silver. Vitaly Scherbo of Belarus was the fifth man to win multiple medals in the vault, adding bronze to his 1992 gold.
The men's pommel horse competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The qualification and final rounds took place on July 20, 22 and 28th at the Georgia Dome. There were 102 competitors from 31 nations, with nations in the team event having up to 7 gymnasts and other nations having up to 3 gymnasts. The event was won by Li Donghua of Switzerland, the nation's first victory in the men's pommel horse since 1928. It was the first time since 1980 that the pommel horse did not have a tie for first place. Marius Urzică earned Romania's first pommel horse medal with his silver, while Alexei Nemov earned Russia's first as a nation separate from the Soviet Union with his bronze.
The men's rings competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The qualification and final rounds took place on July 20, 22 and 28th at the Georgia Dome. There were 102 competitors from 31 nations, with nations in the team event having up to 7 gymnasts and other nations having up to 3 gymnasts. The event was won by Jury Chechi of Italy, the nation's first victory in the men's rings since 1924 and first medal in the event since 1964. There was a tie for silver, between Szilveszter Csollány of Hungary and Dan Burincă of Romania. It was the best result so far for either nation; Romania had previously had a bronze medalist but this was Hungary's first trip to the podium in the rings.
The men's vault 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 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 Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo of the Unified Team, the first victory by a Soviet or former Soviet in the event since 1980. The silver went to Hrihoriy Misyutin, a Ukrainian also competing for the Unified Team. Yoo Ok-ryul gave South Korea its second consecutive bronze medal in the men's vault.
The men's pommel horse 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 d'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. For the third consecutive Games, the pommel horse ended in a tie for the gold medal. Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo and North Korean Pae Gil-su shared the top place. It was North Korea's first medal in the event. Bronze went to Andreas Wecker of Germany.
The men's rings 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 Vitaly Scherbo of the Unified Team, the fourth time in five Games that a Soviet or former Soviet gymnast won the rings. Li Jing of China earned silver. There was a tie for third, with Andreas Wecker of Germany and Li Xiaoshuang of China each receiving bronze medals. It was the first medal for unified Germany since 1936, though East Germany had won gold and bronze in 1988.
The men's parallel bars 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 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 Vitaly Scherbo of the Unified Team, the third time in four Games that a Soviet or former Soviet gymnast won the rings. Li Jing of China earned silver. There was a three-way tie for third, with Igor Korobchinski of the Unified Team, Guo Linyao of China, and Masayuki Matsunaga of Japan each receiving bronze medals. They were the first medals for China in the parallel bars.
The men's parallel bars 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 Vladimir Artemov of the Soviet Union, bracketing the 1984 boycott with gold medal wins for the Soviets; Valeri Liukin took silver, as well. Sven Tippelt 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 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.
The men's parallel bars 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 Sawao Katō of Japan, the first man to successfully defend an Olympic title in the parallel bars—and, as of the 2016 Games, still the only one to do so. It was the fourth consecutive victory by a Japanese gymnast in the event, breaking a tie with Switzerland for most all-time. Japan was unable to repeat its 1972 medal sweep, as nations were now limited to two finalists each. Nikolai Andrianov of the Soviet Union took silver, while Mitsuo Tsukahara of Japan earned bronze, missing a 1–2 finish for Japan by .025 points.
The men's parallel bars 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 Aleksandr Tkachyov of the Soviet Union, the nation's first victory in the parallel bars since 1960 and third overall, tying Switzerland for second-most all-time behind Japan's four. Fellow Soviet Alexander Dityatin took silver, while Roland Brückner earned East Germany's first medal in the event. Japan's four-Games gold medal streak in the event ended with no Japanese gymnasts competing due to the American-led boycott.
The men's parallel bars 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 Bart Conner of the United States, the nation's first victory in the parallel bars since 1904 and second overall. Another American, Mitch Gaylord, took bronze. Japan returned to the podium after the 1980 boycott broke its six-Games medal streak, with Nobuyuki Kajitani's silver.
The men's parallel bars competition was one of eight events for male competitors in artistic gymnastics at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. There were 117 competitors from 28 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 Akinori Nakayama of Japan, the nation's second consecutive victory in the parallel bars event, tying Germany and the Soviet Union for second-most all-time behind Switzerland at three gold medals. It was the second of four straight Games that the parallel bars would be won by a Japanese gymnast. Mikhail Voronin took silver and Viktor Klimenko took bronze to put the Soviet Union back on the podium after a one-Games absence.
