Gymnastics Now and Then

How are you at tumbling? Do you like forward rolls, handstands, and cartwheels? Do you hang and swing from bars? How are you at running, jumping, and balancing? All of those are involved in the sport of gymnastics [jim-NASS-tiks]. During the Summer Olympics, you can see gymnasts from around the world show off their strength, agility, grace, and speed.

Gymnastics was popular in ancient Greece. The Greeks admired strong bodies. Gymnastics events were the perfect way to display their physical fitness. While the ancient Olympic Games included chariot races and foot races, they also had gymnastics contests.

As you might imagine, the ancient Olympic Games differed from modern Olympic Games. 1) The ancient Olympic Games were for Greeks alone. Modern Olympic Games feature people from all over the world! 2) Ancient Olympians competed in the buff. They refused to let a toga get in the way of a top performance! Nowadays athletes wear the proper attire for each sport. 3) Women were not allowed to compete or to watch the games. The law stated that any female caught at the Olympics would be put to death. However, women have been able to compete since 1900, just four years after the modern Olympic Games began. But the U.S. didn't have a women's gymnastics team to send to the Olympic Games until 1936. 4) In ancient Greece, male gymnasts practiced running, jumping, swimming, throwing, wrestling, and weightlifting. This is not our picture of gymnastics at all! In modern times, gymnastics events seem more like acrobatics.