Olympic season is finally upon us!
We are thrilled to watch gymnasts from all around the world perform and are proud of this year's strong Australian gymnastics team.
With the 2024 Paris Olympics about to hit our screens, here's your gymnastics edition guide...
Types of Gymnastics performed at the Olympics
Artistic Gymnastics
In Women's Artistic Gymnastics, females perform on four different apparatuses. These include routines from vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor.
In Men’s Artistic Gymnastics, males perform on six different apparatuses. These include routines from floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars, and high bar.
Gymnasts are scored on execution, difficulty, and performance, with combined scores determining rankings and medalists.
Australia’s Team: Individual vs Group.
In artistic gymnastics, both men and women compete either as part of a team or as individuals. Team events consist of groups representing their countries, performing routines on various apparatuses, while individual events focus on personal performances.
Australia will be represented by several talented gymnasts, including a strong Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG) team of five. Jesse Moore will be the sole male competitor in artistic gymnastics, highlighting his exceptional skills and determination.
Qualifications and Finals
Team Finals: The top eight teams from qualification advance to the final. Only three athletes from each team/country compete on each apparatus, and every score counts.
All-Around Final: The 24 gymnasts with the best scores from qualifications compete, with no more than two gymnasts from any one country. The highest scoring gymnast will receive gold.
Event Finals: The top-eight gymnasts on each apparatus from qualifications advance. Each gymnast performs one routine, and the highest score wins. For vault, two different vaults are performed, with the scores averaged.
You can read more about the history of artistic gymnastics here.
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Rhythmic Gymnastics is a female only event that made its Olympic debut in 1984. There are just two categories: individual all-around women and group all-around women.
Individual All-Around: Each gymnast performs a routine using a ball, hoop, club, and ribbon with the apparatus moving at all times. Scored the same as artistic gymnastics, judges assess rhythmic gymnasts based on their execution and difficulty.
Fun fact: Up until 2013, gymnasts also performed with a rope, but this was ruled out.
Group All-Around: Consisting of five gymnasts, two performances, and two different sets of apparatus. In the first routine, the gymnasts must all use the same props, and in the second, they can use a mixed selection.
You can learn more about Rhythmic Gymnastics here.
Trampoline Gymnastics
Trampoline Gymnastics became a major Olympic sport in 2000. The sport involves two individual events: men’s and women’s.
Gymnasts perform routines that are composed of ten elements where they twist, bounce, and somersault. This is scored on difficulty, execution, and time in the air. Once through to the finals, they have no restrictions on the one single routine that they must perform.
Representing Australia for Trampoline Gymnastics is Brock Batty.
Gymnastics Schedule
The 2024 Paris Olympics kicks off on Saturday July 27 @ 4:24am (AEST) with the opening ceremony. Gymnastics qualifications, also on the 27th begin at 7pm.
You can find the full schedule here.
Who is representing Australia?
This year, the Australian team is composed of 460 athletes, 13 of which will be hitting the main stage for gymnastics, marking this as Australia's largest gymnastics squad.
You can read more about each gymnast here.
Where to watch the 2024 Paris Olympics?
Aussies can catch all the action on Nine Network, via free-to-air broadcasting and online at 9Now. During Nine's NRL matches, Olympics coverage will shift to 9Go! Every event will also be broadcast live and on-demand via Stan.
Stay updated on all things Olympics by watching this space.
