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500 BCE
Soldier Requirement
Gymnastics all started as a soldier requirement for Greek soldiers to prepare for wars. It evolved to be glorified military training for the roman empire too. http://gymnastics.isport.com/gymnastics-guides/history-of-gymnastics -
New Apparatuses
Two physical educators named Johann GutsMuth and Friedrich Jahn, designed the now familiar apparatuses that we see in the Olympics today. The parallel bars, side horse, balance beam, and vaulting horse. http://gymnastics.isport.com/gymnastics-guides/history-of-gymnastics -
FIG
The International Gymnastics Federation formed. http://gymnastics.isport.com/gymnastics-guides/history-of-gymnastics -
United States Military Training
In early 1900’s the sport had traveled across the oceans and the United States adopted it as military training as well. http://gymnastics.isport.com/gymnastics-guides/history-of-gymnastics -
Women Compete
The first time women competed in the Olympics was in the 1928 Games held in Amsterdam. http://gymnastics.isport.com/gymnastics-guides/history-of-gymnastics -
Blocks of wood
Back in the 1948 games the balance beam was just a block of wood, the women were not permitted to do flips, unlike today where they have springs in the beams. http://jezebel.com/5932478/female-gymnasts-used-to-compete-on-the-rings-but-the-game-changed -
Individual women
The 1952 Olympic games were the first that female gymnasts were allowed to compete for individual honors as well as team medals. http://jezebel.com/5932478/female-gymnasts-used-to-compete-on-the-rings-but-the-game-changed -
Double Standards
For years there was a double standard that women would be scored by their grace and artistic flourish, men were scored by their strength and power. The in 1972 a 17-year old Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut was the first woman to combine strength and power with grace. http://gymnastics.isport.com/gymnastics-guides/history-of-gymnastics -
Scoring
In the 1980s the FIG thought that too many ten’s (perfect scores) were being given out so they gave outines start values based on level of difficulty and the succession of trick. This makes it virtually impossible to score a ten. http://gymnastics.isport.com/gymnastics-guides/history-of-gymnastics -
Controversy
In 2004 at the Athens games controversy broke out about the scoring, Yang Tae Young from South Korea filed a protest saying his routine was given an incorrect start value. So in 2005 the FIG changed the code of points to a new way of differentiating between gymnast’s routines. http://gymnastics.isport.com/gymnastics-guides/history-of-gymnastics
