Men's artistic gymnastics is one of the original Olympic sports, contested at the first modern Games in 1896. Gymnasts compete on six apparatus, and the all-around demands an unusual combination of strength, swing, power and control.
The six apparatus
### Floor A routine of up to 70 seconds on a sprung floor, with tumbling passes, strength and balance elements. Men's floor has no music and is all about power and landing control.
Pommel horse
Continuous circular swings with the hands supporting the body, travelling along the horse and over the pommels. Any pause or loss of rhythm costs heavily, and pommel horse is often the apparatus that decides team competitions.
Rings
Strength holds, swing elements and a dismount, performed on rings that must stay as still as possible. Holds such as the cross or the Maltese must be held for a set time.
Vault
Similar to women's vault: run, springboard, table and flight, with each vault carrying a fixed difficulty.
Parallel bars
Swings, releases, handstands and supports on two parallel bars. Routines combine flowing swing with strength.
Horizontal bar
The most spectacular apparatus for many fans: giant swings, release elements with flight above the bar and a high dismount.
How competitions work
As in women's gymnastics, championships include team, all-around and apparatus finals, with a two-per-country limit in individual finals. In team finals all scores count, which makes every rotation critical.
Europe and the men's sport
European gymnasts have won titles on every apparatus. Russia, Ukraine, Great Britain, Switzerland, Germany, Greece, Armenia and many others have produced champions in recent decades. Greece's Eleftherios Petrounias became Olympic rings champion in Rio in 2016, and Russia's men won Olympic team gold in Tokyo.
Read more
See Artur Dalaloyan leading qualification in Szczecin and our scoring guide.
