Summer Olympic Sports >>Rhythmic Gymnastics

ABOUT

A perfect fusion of athletics and aesthetics, gymnastics ranks among the defining sports of the Olympic Games.

When rhythmic gymnastics first caught the attention of the Federation International de Gymnasium (FIG) in the middle of the 20th century, its devotees were calling it "modern gymnastics".  Yet its hazy history can clearly be traced to at least the last century.

COMPETITION

Rhythmic gymnastics (performed with an apparatus) is strictly a women's competition.  The gymnasts, accompanied by music, perform on a 13-metre-square floor area with rope, hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon.  In the individual event they perform different routines with four of the five apparatus.  In the team competition, teams of five perform together once using clubs and once with two using hoops and three using ribbons.

LIST OF EVENTS

• Group competition Women

• Individual all-round Women