Gymnastics
Flute-playing 33-year-old, who won trampoline gold in Paris after overcoming mental struggles, has sights set on LA Games despite suggestions she was retiring to join Cirque du Soleil
American recovers spectacularly after mistake on the uneven bars to win the all-around title and become the first US gymnast to win six Olympic gold medals — she is not star of the show, she is the show
ADVERTISEMENT
Flute-playing 33-year-old, who won trampoline gold in Paris after overcoming mental struggles, has sights set on LA Games despite suggestions she was retiring to join Cirque du Soleil
American recovers spectacularly after mistake on the uneven bars to win the all-around title and become the first US gymnast to win six Olympic gold medals — she is not star of the show, she is the show
Deriving from the Greek word “gymnos”, translating loosely as “to train”, gymnastics is a sport which requires its athletes to use a combination of flexibility, agility and strength as well as endurance. The sport increased in popularity in about the 1800s with Friedrich Ludwig Jahn credited as the “father of gymnastics", innovating equipment such as the high beam and parallel bars.Gymnastics has been featured in the Olympics since the birth of the modern games held at Athens in 1896. The 1920s saw the inclusion of women for the first time at the 1928 games in Amsterdam. Since then the sport has produced many stars, and developed new techniques and safety measures such as foam pits. Current present day gymnastics remains a popular sport, with constant development and new talent breaking records.