There is evidence of forms of gymnastics in the ancient civilisations in the Middle East and Asia. The ancient Greeks practised physical exercises and routines and as a result, gymnastics was included in the ancient Olympic Games. The Romans included physical activities based on those of the Greeks, in their culture. As a type of sport, gymnastics disappeared after the demise of the ancient Olympics, to be revived, principally by the Germans, about 200 years ago.

The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) was formed in 1881 and now has over 120 member countries. 

Gymnastics appeared in the first Olympic Games of the modern era in Athens in 1896. The sport has been on the Olympic program ever since, with women first competing in Amsterdam 1928. The 1970s saw Olympic gymnastics, particularly for women, change from being a physical display to entertainment. Olga Korbut, from the USSR, lit up the gymnastics hall at Munich 1972 with her often breath-taking routines. Nadia Comaneci did the same at Montreal 1976 where she first achieved her perfect 10 on the uneven parallel bars and the judges awarded her the maximum mark seven times during the Games.  

Larisa Latynina, a Ukrainian gymnast representing the USSR, holds the record of winning the most Olympic medals, 18 in three Olympics from Melbourne 1956 to Tokyo 1964. Included in Latynina’s overall medal tally are nine gold medals.

There are now three disciplines in Olympic gymnastics:

1. Artistic gymnastics, the original discipline, with routines on various apparatus and floor exercises;
2. Rhythmic gymnastics, for women only, featuring separate routines with a ribbon, a ball and a hoop, was introduced at Los Angeles 1984; Note: Rhythmic Gymnastics change their apparatus every Olympiad. The apparatus that can be contested include: - Rope, Hoop, Ribbon, Clubs and Ball
3. Trampolining, which became an Olympic discipline at Sydney 2000.

Artistic (men and women)
In artistic gymnastics, men compete on six apparatus: floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar. Women compete on four apparatus: vault, uneven bars, beam and floor.

There are eight teams competing in the team finals (for both men and women). Each team comprises six gymnasts with five competing on each apparatus and the top four scores counting towards the team total (preliminaries). For the final, each country nominates three gymnasts per apparatus with all three scores counting. The team with the highest score out of 240.00 points for men and 160.00 points for women wins the gold medal.

Note: This will change with the introduction of the new Code of Points in 2006.

For the individual all-around final there are 24 competitors (for both men and women - with a maximum of 2 per nation). The gymnasts do not perform the apparatus in the same order. Each gymnast competes on every apparatus, with each score contributing to his or her overall score. The gymnast with the highest score out of 60.00 points for men and 40.00 points for women wins the gold medal. Note: This will change with the introduction of the new Code of Points in 2006.

Gymnasts must turn at least 16 in the year of competition.

Rhythmic gymnastics
There are two gold medals contested under rhythmic gymnastics: individual all-around and the group competition.

In the individual all around, 24 gymnasts compete using hand held apparatus – rope, hoop, ball, ribbon and clubs. Only four apparatus are contested at the Olympics, changing for every Olympiad. There are two rounds of competition: the qualification and the final. The qualification round is held over two days. On the first day, gymnasts compete with the first two apparatus; on the next day, they use the other two. Scores from each routine are added. The top 10 qualify for the final which is then held on one day (qualification-round scores do not carry over to the final). Each gymnast again performs with all four apparatus. The gymnast with the highest score out of 80.00 points is the champion.

In the group competition 10 teams consisting of six gymnasts perform two routines each – one routine with 5 ribbons, and the other with 3 hoops and 2 sets of clubs. Note: Apparatus used in group competition is changed every Olympiad. The eight groups with the highest score from the two exercises advance to the final. Scores do not carry over from the qualification round. The group with the highest total from two routines in the final wins.

Trampoline
The competition consists of a qualification and a final for men and women. All athletes present a compulsory (with 10 skills) and an optional routine (with 10 different skills without limitation) during qualification. The scores from the two routines are combined for an overall score.

The top eight competitors qualify for the final and perform only one voluntary routine of 10 different skills without limitations. The scores from the qualifiers do not carry over to the final.

The first Australian Olympic gymnasts competed in Melbourne in 1956. Australia has never won a medal in artistic or rhythmic gymnastics, with a best placing of seventh coming from the women’s combined team at Barcelona 1992 and Sydney 2000. Ji Wallace received Australia’s first medal in gymnastics when he came second in the men’s trampoline in the sports’ debut at the Sydney Games.

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