Artistic gymnastics
The modern gymnastics all-around program consists of: floor exercises, vaults, pommel horse, rings, parallel bars, and horizontal bar for men, and exercises on uneven bars, balance beam, vaults, and floor exercises for women.
In artistic gymnastics, a gold medal for overall victory – for the combined results of all individual all-around events – is especially valued. It is also considered an honor to be the first to perform a move that is later named after the performer, such as the 'Azaryan Cross' or the 'Shushunova Double Salto'.
Interesting
Larisa Latynina became the absolute winner of the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Moscow (1958) while being five months pregnant.
Olympic Games
Men's artistic gymnastics was included in the Olympic program as early as 1896 in Athens. Women's events appeared at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam.
Russia
Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina has the largest collection of Olympic medals in the history of sports — 9 gold, 5 silver, and 4 bronze medals. She is also known for winning all the gold medals at the 1957 European Championships. Soviet gymnast Nikolai Andrianov won 15 Olympic medals, including 7 gold, 5 silver, and 3 bronze. Twice Olympic all-around champion (1952, 1956) Viktor Chukarin is a five-time Olympic champion, 1954 world champion, and thirteen-time USSR champion (1948-1956). Two-time Olympic champion of the Atlanta Games (1996) Alexei Nemov became world and European champion in 2000 and in the same year was awarded the title of all-around champion in artistic gymnastics, winning six Olympic medals: two gold, one silver, and three bronze.
Our Olympians
