Gymnastics as a form of entertainment and sport dates back thousands of years to ancient Greece and Rome, where it was advocated by philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle. Various gymnastic events and apparatus were revived and new ones created as the sport once again captured people's interest beginning in the 1800's. Gymnastics have been a part of every modern-day Olympics games since the competition was reborn in Athens in 1896, according to the official Olympic games website.
Rings
Adolf Spiess, a German sports educator, first described this gymnastic apparatus in an 1842 gymnastics lesson. The rings event requires the athlete to use upper body strength to suspend himself on still or swinging ropes. Early rings were most commonly made of iron, although wood, wickerwork and hard rubber might be used as well. The rings became an Olympic sport beginning with the Paris games in 1924.
Uneven Bars
The uneven bars present one of the most challenging competitive events in women's gymnastics. Although uneven bars were known to exist in France by 1830, it was not until the latter half of the 20th century that the apparatus became well-known. Nadia Comaneci, a tiny Romanian gymnast, brought this apparatus to national attention when she gained multiple perfect "ten" scores in gymnastics events at the 1976 Montreal Olympic games.
Parallel Bars
Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, a 19th century German gymnastics educator who was often referred to as the "father of gymnastics," created the precursor of this apparatus. He set up three trestles, intending to provide gymnasts with exercise in preparation for using the horse. The trestles soon became popular in their own right, leading to parallel bars becoming a part of gymnastics competition.
High Bar
Since ancient times, performers have used poles or ropes suspended at varying heights to perform tightrope walking or daring acrobatics. Friedrich Ludwig Jahn used the term "high bar" -- originally a German name for a horizontal pole used in chicken stalls -- to describe the apparatus. The first high bars were made of wood, but modern materials have made the apparatus both safer and more flexible.
Pommel Horse
The use of an artificial horse for physical training device dates to ancient times, when it was used by Alexander the Great's soldiers to practice mounting and dismounting, states the GymMedia website. Modern-day male gymnasts use the pommels, or handles, to perform complex movements and body positions above the apparatus.
Balance Beam
The balance beam first appeared at the women's world championships in Budapest in 1934, and became a part of women's Olympic gymnastic competition at the 1952 games. The first beams, at 8 cm or 3.15 inches, were narrower than today's. As women's moves on the beam became increasingly acrobatic, the beam standard was widened to 10 cm, or nearly four inches.
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