History of gymnastics from Jeff Jackson's blog

Anyone who followed the events of the Olympics remembers that the gymnast competitions attracted special interest from the audience. First of all, this sport is very beautiful. Secondly, competitions on all sports equipment always take place in an exciting struggle - this is a competition of grace, strength, and physical perfection. Thirdly, gymnastics in the minds of many people is a truly Olympic sport, in other words, born in ancient times.
 

That’s right, but ancient gymnastics was not at all like modern gymnastics. Now it’s hard to even imagine, but for the Hellenes, the components of gymnastics were, among other things,... running, long jump, wrestling, fist fighting, swimming and even horseback riding. But there were no gymnastic exercises similar to modern ones. And gymnasts, in our understanding of the word, did not take part in the ancient Olympic Games. In a word, it is interesting to understand how this sport - modern gymnastics - was actually born.

The history of gymnastics, like athletics, another “most-most” Olympic sport, really begins in ancient times. But among the Hellenes, gymnastics was not a sport, but a general system for training athletes.
 

In Ancient Hellas they were very concerned about the all-round development of man - both mental and physical - and strived to bring him to perfection. The Hellenes considered equally shameful the inability to write and read, as well as to swim and stand up for oneself in a fist fight.
  One must, however, assume that there were not so many such people among the Hellenes. According https://usghof.org/despite all the differences inherent in different Greek city-states, at least Athens and Sparta, a common, well-thought-out system of physical education gradually developed in Ancient Greece. This is what they call ancient gymnastics.

Few people know that the Greek word “gymnastics” means “naked.” The fact is that the ancient Greeks carried out many physical exercises on the seashore, or even just in the water - they swam or even wrestled in the water element. Clothes were only a hindrance here. But there is another explanation: according to it, the Greeks, believing in magic, believed that clothing weakens a person’s physical capabilities.
  

Be that as it may, ancient gymnastics consisted of three main parts. Children aged 1 to 7 years old played with a ball and hoop and did special exercises to develop dexterity. This was, in our words, initial general physical training, after which it was possible to move on to palaestra and orchestre.

Palaestra  - these are special, in-depth exercises. However, this word originally referred to the wrestling halls that were built in the Greek city-states starting in the 8th century BC. Then the meaning of the word became broader, because the palestra, in addition to wrestling, included many other exercises, for example, a complex test of the pentathlon - a kind of all-around event. Athletes ran a certain distance, took a running long jump, threw a javelin and discus, and competed in wrestling. Since 708 BC, the pentathlon even began to be included in the program of the ancient Olympic Games. And besides the pentathlon, the palestra included freestyle wrestling, fist fighting, throwing stones, running with weapons, horse riding, archery, and swimming.
 

The third component of ancient gymnastics was orchestration. It originated from the ancient ritual dances of the Hellenes and involved exercises considered necessary for the development of dexterity and the ability to move skillfully. Orchestra included ball games, acrobatic exercises, ritual, theatrical and martial dances.
 

The goal of ancient gymnastics was to create the Greek physical ideal. And long after Ancient Hellas, the concept of gymnastics became narrower - it meant only special exercises to strengthen the body, develop strength, agility, endurance, coordination of movements, and speed of reaction. Some exercises began to be performed on gymnastic equipment, for example, the well-known Swedish wall. It received this name because it was invented in the first half of the 19th century by the Swedish professor HjalmarLing, a specialist in human anatomy and physiology.
 

However, even earlier, and not only in Sweden, such equipment as uneven bars, horizontal bars, rings, a beam, and a horse were known, on which vaults and swing exercises are performed...

Gymnastics classes have become increasingly popular in different countries of the world, including Russia. In many educational institutions, gymnastics became a compulsory subject, in addition, special clubs and societies were created.
  

However, sports competitions in some types of gymnastic exercises began to be held only in the second half of the 19th century. In 1881, the International Gymnastics Federation was organized. At first it included only France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Now the federation includes dozens of countries.
   

When the first revived Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896, gymnastics was included in their program. Since 1903, world gymnastics championships began to be held. It is curious, however, that even at the games of the First Olympiad it was not yet entirely clear what types of competitions should be included in the gymnast competitions. And in the gymnastics all-around, athletes did long jump and pole jump, shot put, ran, and performed weightlifting exercises.
   

Why this happened is clear: the organizers of the first revived Olympics took, of course, ancient times as a model, and in Ancient Hellas, as we already know, all athletic training was called gymnastics...
  

Well, modern gymnastics competitions have strictly defined regulations. Athletes compete on apparatus, floor exercise and vault. Both the compulsory program approved by the International Gymnastics Federation and voluntary exercises are performed. Athletes, together with coaches, develop them independently, but the official requirements for their complexity and composition are taken into account.
 

The gymnastic apparatus on which men compete are rings, pommel horse, parallel bars, and crossbar. Gymnasts perform exercises on the balance beam and uneven bars.
 

The scoring system in gymnastics competitions is quite complex. First, the team championship in gymnastics all-around is played. The performance of each athlete is assessed by judges using a 10-point system. Based on the results of the team championship, the best athletes are determined and compete for the title of champion in gymnastics all-around. In addition, the best gymnasts in each type of program are determined, who advance to the finals for the individual championship in these types.

Modern gymnastics is a sport of very young people. Gymnasts are allowed to participate in official competitions from the age of 14, and gymnasts from the age of 16. And very often young athletes achieve outstanding results. For example, the famous gymnast Olga Korbut became the world champion at the age of 15, and two years later won three gold medals at the Olympic Games. At the age of 15, Romanian Nadia Comenech also became an Olympic champion.