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The word gymnastics comes from the Greek words “gymnos” and “gymnazo” - this means to train roughly and exercise naked. The great grandfather of gymnastics is Johann Christoph Friedrich Gutsmuths. He was a German teacher and educator and published a textbook that later translated to English as “Gymnastics for Youth: or a Practical Guide to Healthful and Amusing Exercises for the use of Schools." Link text
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Gymnastics became an “organized sport” when the Bureau of the European Gymnastics Federation was formed. The current international gymnastics governing body is now called the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG,). FIG is also a common brand used for gymnastics equipment. Additionally, it is the setting that equipment is said to be on at international competitions like The Olympics (example: the bars are set to FIG setting). Link text
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Gymnastics was in the Olympics for the first time.
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AAU was the first formal governing body for gymnastics, but almost a century later, gymnastics had been given its own entity for the sport, now called USA Gymnastics.
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Comaneci, a Romanian gymnast, received the first ever perfect score - a 10.0 on the uneven bars. Her coach was Bela Károlyi.
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Bela and Márta Károlyi moved to the United States to coach at what is now the Texas ranch - where elite and high level gymnasts go to train with the best coaches.
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The United States women's gymnastics team won the team gold for the first time in Olympic history. The seven members of the team were Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu, Dominique Dawes, Kerri Strug, Amy Chow, Amanda Borden and Jaycie Phelps.
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Carly Patterson started a trend when she won an all around gold medal in 2004, the first time for the US in nearly 20 since Mary Lou Retton. In 2008, Nastia Liukin won gold, in 2012, Gabby Douglas, and in 2016, Simone Biles. All for the USA.
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Gabby Douglas was the first US gymnast to claim the All Around and Team Gold medals. She was the first black gymnast to win AA gold.
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Larry Nassar, a doctor who worked with the US national team in Texas on the ranch, plead guilty to federal child pornography charges on July 11, 2017, and was sentenced to 60 years in prison on December 7, 2017. On January 24, 2018, Nassar was sentenced to an additional 40 to 175 years in prison. 332 survivors have come forward to tell their stories. Link text
