PARIS: You can't tell your pommel horse from your uneven bars?
AFP Sport takes a look at the details of the artistic gymnastics competition that begins on Saturday at the Paris Olympic Games.
The men compete on six apparatus: floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bar.
For women there are four: vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor.
The competition in the Bercy Arena from Saturday to August 5 is divided into four phases: qualification, team final, all-around final and apparatus final.
In this weekend's qualification, gymnasts will compete as part of their country's team or as individuals. The results will help qualify gymnasts for the team finals, the all-around and the apparatus finals.
Team results are based on the three gymnasts with the highest scores on each apparatus.
The eight countries with the highest scores qualify for the team final, which will be held on all apparatus.
The best 24 qualifiers (maximum two per country) compete for the all-around title, which is again contested on all apparatus and is considered the supreme discipline of gymnastics.
The apparatus finals consist of the eight gymnasts with the highest score on each apparatus (again, a maximum of two per country).
Identical for men and women – magic on a 12 x 12 m mat, centimeter-precise somersaults across the diagonal with music just for the women.
The male equivalent of the balance beam for women – with the emphasis on core and shoulder strength, as only the hands are allowed to touch the foam and leather-covered horse and two handles.
“Only” 5.75 m above the ground, the gymnasts need a helping hand from their trainers to hold them steady. A moment of silence is followed by a demonstration of strength and control like the Iron Cross: the gymnast remains still, arms stretched out horizontally, legs pointing downwards and every tendon tensed.
The ultimate test of a gymnast's artistry, skill, athleticism and courage, blink and you'll miss five or six seconds of drama. The men's vault table is four inches higher than the women's. Look out for American superstar Simone Biles, who pulled off her spectacular Biles II Yurchenko double spike in practice on Thursday.
Controlled swinging movements over and under the bars, which are placed at about head height and shoulder width apart – a landing like glue is what the attentive judges will be looking for.
Or horizontal bar, as it's called – terrifyingly high, about 9 feet 10 inches above the ground. The single metal beam – uneven bars and parallel bars, on the other hand, are made of fiberglass with a wood coating – is smaller in diameter than parallel bars and elicits gasps from fans as the gymnast prepares to do somersaults over the beam – and hopefully catches it afterwards.
This apparatus is for gymnasts only and consists of two bars of different heights and widths, allowing the gymnast to appear to swing from bar to bar. The high bar is 2.5 m (8.2 ft) off the ground, and the low bar is 1.7 m (5.6 ft). Watch for Algerian teenager Kaylia Nemour, who is performing the most complex uneven bars routine and is aiming to become the first Olympic medalist in gymnastics from the African continent.
The original idea comes from the “Grandfather of Gymnastics” – Johann Guts Muth – a German sports professor from the early 19th century. Olga Korbut surprised fans at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich by performing the very first backflip. A jump just 10 cm wide requires the utmost precision and nerves of steel. The rectangular beam presents a challenge for the gymnasts, requiring them to master their balance, somersaults, jumps and leaps, while trying not to hit the ground.
Saturday, July 27 – Men’s Qualification
Sunday, July 28 – Women’s Qualification
Monday, July 29 – Men’s Team Final
Tuesday, July 30 – Women’s team final
Wednesday, July 31 – Men’s all-around final
Thursday, August 1 – Women’s all-around final
Saturday, August 3 – Men’s floor exercise final; Women’s vault final; Men’s pommel horse final
Sunday, August 4 – Men’s rings final; Women’s uneven bars final; Men’s vault final
Monday, August 5 – Men’s parallel bars final; Women’s balance beam final; Men’s high bar final; Women’s floor exercise final
