History of Women's Gymnastics in the Olympics

When most people think of gymnastics, they think of artistic gymnastics. But this is only one discipline of the sport. Thanks to the Olympics, the sport has become quite popular since its inception in ancient Greece. However, until the early 20th century, women were not allowed to compete in the Olympics at all, and even then it was quite a few Olympics gatherings later that women gymnasts took the floor.

Parisian Games First Allows Women Competitors

Women were not allowed to compete in the Olympics Games until the Games of 1900, which were held in Paris. Eleven women entered the games, competing in lawn tennis and golf.

First Women's Gymnastics Team

Women gymnasts first entered the Olympics in 1928 as a team event. Individual events were not added until 1952 at the Helsinki Games, two years after these events were added to the World Championships.

Age Factors

The average age for women gymnastics champions used to be in the low twenties. But in the 1970s, the average age of the competitors began to drop to the teens. After just a few years, the sport was inundated with "pixies," underweight and very young teenagers.

Older Athletes Brought Back

To help bring back the competition to older athletes, the Federation of International Gymnastics (FIG) raised the minimum age limit to 16 for international competitions. Since then, older women athletes have been able to compete in the Olympics, including those in their mid-20s and even a 30-year-old mother.

Women Only Competitions

Both men and women compete with the vault, but the women have their own distinct routines from the men's competitions. Women-only competitions now include the uneven bars, balance beam and the floor exercise.