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GYMNASTICS
Gymnastics is a sport that requires balance,
strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and
endurance.
• The women's events are vault, uneven bars,
balance beam and floor exercise as well as the
men's events are floor exercise, pommel horse, still
rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar.
• A new age restriction was added to gymnastics in
1997. Gymnasts competing in senior level
competitions under the FIG must now be at
Least 16 years old or turning 16 in the calendar year
of the competition.
• Gymnastics facts tell us that Mary Lou Retton was
the first American to win the all-around gold medal
at the Olympics. Inspired by Nadia Comăneci’s
performance at the 1976 Olympic Games in Los
Angeles, Retton took up gymnastics – with great
success.
• Five teams competed in the first ever gymnastics
event in the Olympics of 1896. Germany won most
of the medals.
-N ASHWANTH
XI A
