Let’s close a handy e book a rough flip through history: While gymnastics has been a segment of the Olympics since the first stylish Games in Athens in 1896, ladies weren’t allowed to compete in artistic gymnastics at the Olympics till the 1928 Games in Amsterdam. It wouldn’t be till 1984 that rhythmic gymnastics made its Olympic debut in Los Angeles, and trampoline first modified into an Olympic sport in 2000 at the Sydney Games.

Soooo…what precisely is the variation between artistic and rhythmic gymnastics? In the occasion you don’t are looking out for to bend over backwards shopping for answers, retain studying.

What is the variation between artistic gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics?

For starters, artistic gymnastics is initiate to each ladies and men at the Olympics nonetheless, within the point out time, only ladies are allowed to compete in rhythmic gymnastics at the Games.

There’s moreover a distinction in equipment—a.ok.a. the gear.

“In artistic gymnastics, ladies and men compete on equipment,” the Canadian Olympic Committee’s web living explains, “whereas in rhythmic gymnastics the athletes compete with handheld equipment.”

If this left your mind doing somersaults, here’s a breakdown: In artistic gymnastics, ladies compete on stability beam, vault, uneven bars and floor whereas men compete on rings, vault, pommel horse, horizontal bar, parallel bars and floor. As for rhythmic gymnasts, they compete with four handheld apparatuses: ribbon, hoop, ball and club.

“Till 2013, [rhythmic] gymnasts might per chance well moreover moreover create with rope,” Olympics.com reads. “However, this equipment has been phased out, leaving correct four to come to a decision on between. Whichever gear the gymnast makes exhaust of, the precept stays the same: they have to retain the equipment tantalizing at all instances, developing a flowing routine to song.”

The types are moreover different.

“With roots in Vulnerable Greece, artistic gymnastics is as dilapidated because it is spectacular,” the rating living for the Worldwide Gymnastics Federation (FIG) states, “combining lag, energy, energy and suppleness with tumbling and acrobatic skills, all performed with an emphasis on vogue.”

As for rhythmic gymnastics, the FIG notes the game is “carefully influenced by ballet and stylish dance.”

“Flexibility and musical interpretation are vital parts in a rhythmic order,” the group continues. “However, it is the amount of possibility a gymnast takes, in most cases throwing the equipment several meters into the air and shedding search of it whereas performing honest leaps, turns or acrobatic maneuvers sooner than regrasping it—in most cases in very now now not going-seeming catches—that items the routines aside.”

How are the events in artistic gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics different?

Once more, this mostly comes the total manner down to equipment.

In artistic gymnastics, there are 14 Olympic events. The ladies compete in four—vault, uneven bars, stability beam and floor order—and the lads compete in six: floor order, pommel horse, aloof rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bars.

Each and each moreover participate in crew and all-round events. Every match entails competing on each equipment, nonetheless there are about a differences. Because the name suggests, the crew match parts multiple gymnasts from the same crew competing together for one overall crew rating, whereas the all-round match entails one gymnast competing on each equipment for a particular person rating. Handiest two gymnasts per taking part country can compete within the all-round.

In rhythmic gymnastics, there are two events: particular person all-round and community all-round.

“In the actual person events, gymnasts create four instances, the exhaust of every share of equipment as soon as,” Olympics.com shares. “Every performance have to be 75 to 90 seconds long. The community match sees a crew of 5 gymnasts from the same National Olympic Committee performing twice. In the first routine, the gymnasts have to all exhaust the same equipment, and within the 2d they exhaust a blended preference.”

How is the scoring different in artistic gymnastics versus rhythmic gymnastics?

Right here’s a rundown of the ABCs—or quite the D’s and the E’s—of gymnastics.

In artistic gymnastics, there’s an E rating for execution and a D rating for jam.

“Every execution rating begins at 10.0 parts,” NBCOlympics.com explains. “The judges on the execution panel deduct parts for errors, equivalent to steps on landings, falls, flexed toes, zigzag knees, and so forth.”

“The jam rating begins at zero, and an athlete will accomplish parts for composition necessities, jam of the climate and connection rate,” the outlet continues. “In ladies’s gymnastics, each routine receives parts for the eight most subtle parts, whereas in men’s gymnastics, 10 are counted.”

The gymnast or crew with the absolute top blended D and E rating wins gold.

Equally, in rhythmic gymnastics, there’s an E rating for execution. The judges negate if there were any errors, and the “sum of technical deductions are subtracted from 10 parts,” in step with the FIG handbook. There’s moreover a D rating for jam. The judges explore at each jam of body actions (admire leaps, balances and rotations) and equipment exhaust (equivalent to how an item became thrown, caught or dealt with). Based mostly totally on NBCOlympics.com, the absolute top D rating is a 10.

However unlike in artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics moreover has an A rating for artistry. Based mostly totally on NBCOlympics.com, “Examples of parts being evaluated are the connection between song and motion, expressiveness, exhaust of home, disagreement in tempo, character, and intensity of the actions, and so forth.” Once more, the FIG handbook states that “the sum of the artistry deductions is subtracted from 10.0 parts.”

Whomever has the absolute top blended E, D and A rating wins gold.

Who’re artistic gymnasts and rhythmic gymnasts competing for Crew USA?

The members of the 2024 U.S. ladies’s artistic gymnastic crew encompass Simone Biles, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee and Hezly Rivera, with Joscelyn Roberson and Leanne Wong serving as traveling alternative athletes. As for the members of the lads’s crew, they encompass Asher Hong, Paul Juda, Brody Malone, Stephen Nedoroscik and Frederick Richard, with Patrick Hoopes, Yul Moldauer, Donnell Whittenburg, Shane Wiskus and Khoi Younger being the choice athletes.

Evita Griskenas and Lili Mizuno signify the U.S. in rhythmic gymnastics.