The 2004 Olympics in Athens has been a success for the American gymnasts. Paul Hamm became the first American all around champion in the men's and in the women's all around, Carly Patterson stood as a gold medalist.
Gymnastics is a physically demanding sport that requires strength, flexibility, and power. Most gymnasts start participating in the sport at early ages, which enables them to maintain their born flexibility and to start building the strength that is required.
There are different activities for men and women. For men there are six different exercises; floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars, and horizontal bar. The floor exercise mat is 40 square feet, the pommel horse is 46” high, 14” wide, and 64” long, the still rings are 110” above the ground, and the vault table is 50” high. The parallel bars are 78” high and the horizontal bar is 50” high.
The women do four different types of exercises; floor exercise, vault, uneven bars, and the balance beam. The balance beam is 50” high and only 4“ wide.
The judging can be confusing for the inexperienced eye. For each routine, the gymnast begins with less than a perfect score (<10.0). The women start with a 9.00 while the men start with an 8.60. Judges make deductions for flaws in execution and for any missing requirements in the composition of the exercise. A gymnast can receive a bonus score of up to 1.2, thus could get a perfect score of 10.0. The gymnasts are scored based upon the difficulty, special requirements, additive value, execution faults, rhythm, presentation, and artistry of their performance.
Gymnastics is a short burst high intensity sport and a 110 lb person burns about 400 kcal per hour.
If you are planning on participating in gymnastics, consult with your physician if there are any concerns or consideration.