Gymnastics is one of the oldest sports in the world, dating back thousands of years. It has evolved over thousands of years to become the sport it has become today. Artistic Gymnastics, because of the exquisite routines and choreography, is one of the most closely followed and intensely competed events In the Olympics. Due to its popularity there are some myths that have come up about it along with many interesting facts. Some of them are listed below:
Facts
1. Some track and field events such as pole vault, shot put, and the 100-meter sprint were at one time included in the gymnastics events.
2. Women were not allowed to compete in Olympic gymnastics until 1928. The first female event was combined group exercise and the Netherlands claimed the title.
3. Difficult gymnastics moves are often names after exceptional gymnasts. Three separate gymnastics moves are named after Kelly Garrison including the ‘Super E’.
4. In 1984, 16-year-old Mary Lou Retton of West Virginia won the Olympic gold medal in the Women’s All-Around event, thanks to her perfect performance on the vault. She was the first American to win that event.
5. In the 1976 Olympics, Nadia Comaneci of Romania became the first gymnast in Olympic history to score a perfect 10.0. She did this on the uneven bars. She went on to record six more perfect scores during those Olympics.
Myths
1. There is a common myth that the better an athlete does the better points he/she has but in fact gymnasts are awarded points before they even begin competing based on the difficulty of their routine( for example: a perfect landing but a easy routine will not help you to score more points).
2. Some say to do gymnastics you have to be short in height but the fact is anyone can do gymnastics regardless of size and strength. The skills that gymnastics provides helps to create body awareness that tall and small participant benefit from.
3. It’s common belief that Gymnastics is a dangerous sport but the truth is when a gymnastics program is tailored to the needs of the age group and ability level it is not dangerous. The athletes are trained and learn how to perform these skills safely.
4. Another myth is that it is an elite level sport. Gymnastics is an activity that everyone can participate in and benefit from. The majority of participants in gymnastics throughout the world are involved at the recreational level with over 30 million members.
5. Gymnastics is not just a girls sport as it is commonly believed. The benefits of gymnastics are the same for both boys and girls. Gymnastics is especially good for young boys as it develops hand-eye coordination and builds upper body strength which helps to pursue other sports as well.
These facts and myths and many more are what makes the sport so interesting and widely popular throughout the world. Gymnastic being an Olympic sport has a huge fan base as the athletes start to prepare from a very young age to do well at local as well as international tournaments. The popularity has grown over the years and is expected to grow continuously as the tournaments have seen a huge turnout for participation.