Gymnastics is a sport synonymous with the summer Olympic Games. And its competitors are more well known
than many movie stars.
Though losing the all-around competition to a teammate in 1972 at Munich, 17-year-old Olga Korbut captured the imagination of the American public. She won the gold medal for both the balance beam and the floor exercise. Today, she is a resident of Atlanta. In 1976, in Montreal, it was Nadia Comaneci... in 1984 in Los Angeles, Mary Lou Retton.
There are six events for men and four events for women in Gymnastics-Artistic, and the competition is inevitably tense and compelling. Once again, in Atlanta, gymnastics will be in the center ring, and a host of new heroes and heroines will emerge from the competition to capture our hearts and our imagination. Competition is held in the team event, individual all-around, and individual apparatus finals. Gymnastics-Rhythmic will feature two events: the individual all-around, in which athletes compete with four apparatus (rope, ball, clubs and ribbon), and the group event in which 8 groups will compete in two exercises: one with five hoops, and the other with three balls and two ribbons.
A total of 304 athletes are expected to compete at the Georgia Dome and
the University of Georgia Coliseum in Gymnastics-Artistics and Gymnastics-Rhythmic.
| An estimated 5.3 million visted Centennial Olympic Park between opening day - 13 July - and closing day - 4 August, making the park the most single most visited Olympic site during the Games. |