Synonymous with strength, grace, and style, Artistic Gymnastics sees its athletes leaping, twirling and flying across a range of iconic apparatus, earning points from a panel of judges and amazement from spectators.
Arms, legs, shoulders, back, chest and abdominal muscles are pushed to the limit during a complex series of movements and tests of strength.
Women contest the vault, the floor, uneven bars, and balance beam. The men contest the vault, the floor, parallel bars, horizontal bar, rings and the pommel horse. Medals are awarded to the best individual performance on each apparatus.
In the Individual All-Around event competitors compete on each apparatus and their scores are then combined to see who wins.
In the Team All-Around event, each nation’s team of athletes compete on each apparatus, and the scores are added to find the winning nation.
Previous Commonwealth Games Appearances
Artistic gymnastics first appeared at the 1978 Commonwealth Games. Its next appearance was in 1990 and it has featured at every Commonwealth Games since then.
Fighting Chalk
You might have noticed gymnasts in these events dusting their hands with clouds of white powder before competing. This is a type of powdered chalk, and has the function of absorbing sweat from the athletes’ hands – minimizing the risk of slipping off – while at the same time allowing them to swing freely around the apparatus.