Gymnastics History
17 FOLLOWERS
You'll find all sorts of things from the past: old meet scores with historical context about their importance, old competition footage with short commentary, factoids about past Codes of Points, gymnastics trivia, and miscellanea from the archives.
Gymnastics History
1d ago
As the 1952 Olympics approached, the Hungarian women’s gymnastics team found itself amid a fierce battle for the coveted spots. A series of four trials* would determine who would represent Hungary on the world stage, and the competition was anything but predictable. In the opening trial at the 1951 Masters Championships, Ágnes Keleti emerged victorious ..read more
Gymnastics History
2M ago
In 1952, Hungary hosted its Liberation Day competition, a pivotal event for gymnasts vying for a spot in the upcoming Helsinki Olympics. For Hungarian athletes, the competition was more than just a national day to remember the end of German occupation; it was another qualifying meeting for the Helsinki Olympics,* and on the women’s side ..read more
Gymnastics History
2M ago
In 1952, the Soviet national gymnastics team traveled to Hungary for a dual meet that coincided with Hungarian-Soviet Friendship Month. This event turned out to be a bellwether for the 1952 competition season. At the time, Hungary’s gymnasts had already proven themselves on the world stage, with the women’s team securing second place and the ..read more
Gymnastics History
3M ago
Between World War I and World War II, Hungary was one of the top gymnastics nations. The Hungarian women’s team finished second at the 1934 World Championships and third at the 1936 Olympics. While the Hungarian men didn’t medal as a team, they had several standout gymnasts, including István Pelle, who achieved a perfect score ..read more
Gymnastics History
3M ago
What were the compulsory routines for the Olympic Games in Helsinki? At the time, the compulsories changed every two years. So, the compulsory routines in Helsinki were different from those prescribed for the 1950 World Championships in Basel. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, there aren’t videos of the routines on YouTube. But in ..read more
Gymnastics History
3M ago
In 1952, there wasn’t a Code of Points for women’s artistic gymnastics. The “program” established the rules for participants and judges alike. It was a different time. While flying rings disappeared after the 1950 World Championships, ensemble routines with portable hand apparatus remained. Those were done to music, but women’s individual floor exercise was performed ..read more
Gymnastics History
4M ago
The Helsinki Games were the first Olympics that used an official Code of Points for men’s gymnastics. (The 1950 World Championships had used the 1949 Code of Points, as well.) But not everything could be covered in the extremely short Code of Points. As a result, the program for gymnastics in Helsinki included an additional ..read more
Gymnastics History
5M ago
If you’ve ever flipped through old Codes of Points, you might have noticed something. The old tomes are typically filled with ads from equipment manufacturers like Janssen & Fritsen and Spieth. However, the 1979 edition introduced a newcomer: a full-page advertisement from ABC, the U.S. television network. This addition was no coincidence; it came on ..read more
Gymnastics History
6M ago
In 1979, there was finally a vague sense of harmony between the men’s and women’s Codes of Points. Both the Women’s and Men’s Technical Committees emphasized risk, originality, and virtuosity, and both used four difficulty categories: A, B, C, and CR (for extra-risky skills). While this was a major change for the Women’s Code of ..read more
Gymnastics History
7M ago
In 1968, the Men’s Technical Committee published its Code of Points, which introduced the concepts of risk, originality, and virtuosity (ROV) for apparatus finals. In the decade that followed, the MTC continued to tinker with the formula for ROV. Meanwhile, the Women’s Technical Committee continued to discourage excess difficulty. In fact, in 1973, the Women’s ..read more