The men perform in six events including the floor exercise, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar while the women perform routines in the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise.
Other countries who have not qualified as a team also may send gymnasts to the Games if they meet the qualifying requirements. The 24 additional gymnasts compete along with the teams in an effort to qualify for the individual all-around competition and apparatus finals.
Combining daring acrobatics with elements of strength, balance and flexibility, the men's floor exercise event consists of a 50 - 70-second routine performed on a spring-enhanced 12-square-meter area. Gymnasts make three to five tumbling passes across the area of the floor and must maintain proper tempo and rhythm between passes. The tumbling runs have become increasingly more difficult through out the history of the event. The 1995 world all-around champion, Li Xiaoshuang of China earned the 1992 gold medal in the floor exercise with a spectacular triple back salto (somersault). Competitors also must display at least one strength element by balancing on one arm or leg. Gymnasts in the floor exercise may be penalized for any number of execution errors, including failing to hold strength moves the required 2 seconds, failing to execute clean landings and stepping off the mat area.
Pommel Horse
Considered the most technically difficult event in the men's rotation, the pommel horse requires strength and precision as gymnasts "work the leather" in continuous movement across the apparatus. The hands are the only part of the body that may touch the horse or pommels, and each movement is defined by precise hand placements and body positions. Hand placements should be quick and rhythmic as gymnasts perform propeller-like moves with names such as the "Stockli" and the straddle-legged "Thomas Flair." Competitors may lose points for executional and form errors as well as for falling off the horse, not using the entire length of the horse and stopping during their routine.
The leather-covered horse measures 1.5m in length, 35cm wide and stands 1.2m above the floor. Two curved grips (pommels) divide the horse into three sections, with gymnasts expected to cover each portion of the horse during their routines.
Rings
Grasping two suspended wooden or fiberglass rings, gymnasts test their strength and precision in one of the sport's most captivating events. Suspended 2.55 m above the floor, the rings require gymnasts to swing and press up into strength moves such as handstands, crosses (athlete's arms are out perpendicular to the body) and planches (athlete's body is parallel to the floor) while keeping the rings perfectly still. Stillness in the rings is essential to a gold medal performance with any swaying of the rings or wobbling of the arms during the routine resulting in a score deduction. Daring dismount skills once relegated to the high bar are now common in the rings with various high-flying somersaults and twists from the hang position. Four of the past five all-around champions, including 1992 gold medalist Vitaly SHCHERBO (BLS), also captured the gold medal in the rings. Vault
Soaring and twisting through the air, gymnasts perform vaults with ranging grades of difficulty as specified in the Code of Points. The vault begins with a sprint down a 25m runway before planting the hands on the vaulting horse and springing into a series of twists and saltos. In the men's vault, the horse is placed in line with the springboard and runway, forcing the gymnast to soar more than 1 meter above the horse and a least 2-1/2 meters beyond the end of the horse before reaching the mat. The landing should remain in line with the horse springboard and runway. Height, distance, acceleration and "sticking" the landing are key to a gold medal performance.
Japanese vaulters have been among the major innovators in the event, developing signature vaults like Haruhiro Yamashita's pike-position forward salto (flip) in 1964 and Mitsuo Tsukahara's one-half turn, backward salto in 1976. However, one of the most revolutionary developments in the event came from the women's side of the competition when Soviet world champion Natalia YURCHENKO introduced the round-off, backward entry onto the springboard.
Parallel Bars
Gymnasts perform on two 3m 50cm parallel bars made of wood or fiberglass, set 1.75m off the ground. Elements required by each athlete include swings and kips where the gymnast moves from a position below the bars to a spot above the bars, flights in which the bars are released and strength displays in which the gymnast comes to a complete stop. The most difficult moves involve blind releases where the gymnast momentarily loses sight of the bar while performing a salto or twist. Working on just one of the two rails also can attract the attention of the judges as can a spectacular dismount off the end of the rail. Bart CONNER of the United States registered the event's highest score in the apparatus finals with a 19.95 to win the 1984 gold medal.
Horizontal Bar
Often considered the sport's glamour event, the horizontal bar requires gymnasts to swing continuously around a steel bar positioned 2m 55cm above the ground. Routines include fearless release moves -- swinging free and then re-grasping the bar. Each routine must be performed without break and consists of giant swings, in-bar moves, elements with turns around the longitudinal axis and flight elements. One arm giants, a one-armed full rotation swing around the bar, are expected from the top competitors as are spectacular twisting dismounts. Although release moves are commonplace, they have become increasingly more daring with gymnasts performing multiple release moves in quick succession.
Divided into four phases, the vault requires strength and control as gymnasts push off the horse to perform high-flying twists and saltos.
During the first flight, or entry phase, the gymnast catapults off the springboard and soars toward the horse as judges check for correct body alignment as defined in the Code of Points.
In the support phase, the gymnast must demonstrate proper body and hand position and an instantaneous release from the apparatus as she pushes off the horse. Multiple twists and saltos characterize the second flight phase. The vault's final phase, the landing should be "stuck" with minimum bending of the knees (squat) or hips (pike).
In the women's competition, the horse is placed crosswise, perpendicular to the runway, as opposed to the lengthwise position of the horse in the men's event.
Uneven Bars
Ever since Nadia COMANECI earned the event's first Olympic perfect 10 in 1976, the parallel bars have become a showcase for flawless performances. The event's past two apparatus champions, Romania's Daniela SILIVAS in 1988 and China's LU Li in 1992, both earned their gold medals with perfect routines. The event consists of gymnasts swinging and flipping between two bars of differing heights (one at 2 m 40 cm and 1 m 60 cm) set parallel to each other. Each routine consists of a minimum of three bar changes and release moves to pass from one bar to the other. Continuous movement is key to a top performance with competitors performing saltos and giant circle swings while grasping and releasing the bars in preparation for a spectacular dismount.
Balance Beam
They make it look simple with their breath-taking acrobatic moves, but there's nothing easy about handspringing and flic-flacing across a 20cm (4 in) wide beam. Combining acrobatics with elements of gymnastics and dance, the gymnasts leap, tumble and turn across the beam during the 70 90-second routine. Originality, rhythm and a perception of effortlessness can all contribute to a medal-winning performance.
Floor Exercise
Olga KORBUT, Nadia COMANECI and Larysa LATYNIA all captured gold medals -- as well as the hearts of the judges -- in this crowd-pleasing event.
While personality, charm, grace and rhythm all contribute to a gold medal performance, dynamic tumbling skills have become increasingly important in wining the top prize. Gymnasts now fly through bold tumbling passes of back saltos and twists as part of their 70 - 90-second routine.
Performed to a musical score, the women's floor exercise also places an emphasis on dance, and the event's top performers have used the music to their medal-winning advantage. Competing in her third Olympic Games, Svetlana Boginskaya (BLS), the 1988 silver medalist, enlisted the help of a Boloshoi Ballet-trained choreographer before recording three-perfect 10s in the floor exercise at the 1989 World Gymnastics Championship.
This is an official publication of The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publication Department. Written by Diana Drayson and Howard Thomas.
| Closing Ceremony of the 1996 Games involved a crew of 2,100 who worked with more than 3,500 performers as well as thousands of athletes who celebrated on the field of Olympic Stadium. |