Gymnastics is a great sport for everyone. Not only does this sport build strong bones, it also improves motor skill development. The best thing is that it’s fun to do. Perhaps you have known a lot about gymnastics especially the advantages it offers and types of gymnastics. Apart from its benefits, there are some fun facts about gymnastics that may make you more interested in this exciting activity and sport.
Contents
- 1 Where Did Gymnastic Start?
- 2 Gymnastics Had Ever Vanished
- 3 Did Women Participate In Gymnastic?
- 4 Most Gymnasts Start Their Careers Since They’re A Small Kid
- 5 It Has Stylish Apparel
- 6 The Sport Isn’t Only For Your Girls
- 7 The Most Famous Gymnast
- 8 The Father Of The Modern Gymnastic
- 9 The Perfect 10 In The History
Where Did Gymnastic Start?
In Athens, gymnasium was the place for both physical and cultural activities. Men gathered in a gymnasium not merely to practice sports but also learn music, art, and philosophy. It was believed that the combination of psychical exercises and intellectual activity could lead a balance between the body and mind. Due to their excitement to the activity, gymnastic tournaments such as rope climbing and tumbling were held and sponsored by the Athenians. The first ancient Olympics was born here.
Gymnastics Had Ever Vanished
Gymnastic was very popular in the ancient Greek. The popularity continued to rise after the Roman conquered Greece as they thought that the sport would benefit their military training. However, after the Roman Empire collapsed in 395 AD, gymnastics began to disappear. The next century after the fall of the Roman Empire, the Roman army continued to practice the sport.
Did Women Participate In Gymnastic?

Olga Korbut in Munich 1972
Nowadays, gymnastics is dominated by women. The number of female gymnastics athletes is even five times bigger than that of male gymnasts. It’s very different from what happened in the early days where women were not allowed to take part in the Olympic gymnastics games until 1928 in the Amsterdam games.
Even in the ancient Greek, not only were women not allowed to participate in gymnastics competition especially the ancient Olympics, they were forbidden to just do the exercise and enter the gymnasium. There were various reasons for that. The thought that women were second-class people and they were considered as a pollutant were some of the reasons why there weren’t women in the ancient Olympic Games.
Most Gymnasts Start Their Careers Since They’re A Small Kid
It’s is never too late to start learning sports including gymnastics. What you need are hard work and dedication. Of course, starting earlier is better. Nearly all gymnasts started to practice gymnastics when they’re still very young and started professional training in early teens. Gabby Douglas, the star of the 2012 Olympics, practiced gymnastics from the age of six.
It Has Stylish Apparel
Nowadays, it is easy to find leotards in many different models and cuts. You can find them open back, crop top, and more. The choice of color is also endless. To many gymnasts, wearing comfortable leotards is extremely important as it lets them move easily and safely. In addition to that, wearing stylish apparel can boost confidence.
The Sport Isn’t Only For Your Girls
Many people assumed that in order to succeed in gymnastic, you have to be young. It’s probably because they see that many gymnasts also started their career in the age of 5 or 6, joined competition during their teen ages and stopped before thirty. In fact, it is highly possible to compete in older ages.
For your information. The Rio Olympics featured a 41-year-old gymnast from Uzbekistan. She was Oksana Chusovitina who had already competed in the Olympics seven times. She is the oldest female gymnast in the Olympic. It proves that age is not a restriction in doing gymnastic and participating in a tournament. There were also other athletes who were over 35 years old when joining gymnastic tournaments such as Yordan Yovtchev and Marian Dragulescu.
The Most Famous Gymnast
She is considered as one of the best athletes due to her amazing achievements. She has won 30 Olympic and World Championship medals in total, making here the first rank of the most decorated gymnast in America. Her fame and popularity is going to keep growing as she is still young and there will be more medals to earn.
The Father Of The Modern Gymnastic
Due to what he did, gymnastic became popular in Germany in the 1800s. He also established a gymnastic school in and gymnastic clubs in Berlin in 1811.
The Perfect 10 In The History
The maximum score in gymnastic is 10. One of the fun facts about gymnastics is the perfect 10 scores is very difficult to achieve. Until the present time, there have been only 116 perfect 10s scored in total. The first gymnasts who made an extraordinary achievement by making a perfect 10 score is Nadia Comaneci. She got a perfect 10 at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
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