Gymnastics
Artistic gymnastics explained: Men’s and women’s events
From vaults to beam routines, artistic gymnastics has it all. Find out the different events for men and women that make this sport a true showcase of skill and style.
Gymnastics is a super versatile sport with different disciplines, each with its own style and set of skills.
Artistic gymnastics, specifically, is where the flips, twists and big “wow” moments really shine for rising stars like Lily Smith. It’s the version you see on the world stage every four years with the powerful vaults, graceful beam routines and high-flying bar skills. Whether it’s women dancing and tumbling to music on the floor, or men showing off insane strength on rings and pommel horse, artistic gymnastics combine athletic power with serious style.
Men and women compete on different equipment and in some different events. Men’s gymnastics has six events and women’s has four. Each event is a chance to show off strength, control and creativity – all while making it look effortless. It’s intense, it’s exciting and it’s basically flying with flair.
Athletes are judged on a few things:
- Difficult: The complexity and difficulty of the skills performed
- Execution: The technique, form and how cleanly the skills were performed
- Artistry: Musicality, choreography and expression
Lily Smith training at Georgia Elite Gymnastics, in Watkinsville, GA
© Koury Angelo / Red Bull Content Pool
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Men’s artistic gymnastic events
Men’s artistic gymnastics is a dynamic and physically demanding sport that showcases strength, precision and control across six events. It challenges athletes to perform and execute highly technical routines and every performance demands total body coordination and mental focus.
Floor exercise:
The floor is where gymnasts show off their power and athleticism. It’s where the big tumbling passes, strength moves and smooth transitions take place. It’s a fast-paced routine that covers the entire mat. And for men, there is no music – just laser focus, flips and some finesse. To achieve a high score, clean landings and flow are key.
- Emphases: Strength, control and variety
Pommel horse:
Pommel horse is all about rhythm, balance and serious upper body strength. This event had a big moment at the 2024 world games when Stephen Nedoroscik, a pommel horse specialist, helped team U.S. take home a (bronze) medal for the first time since 2008. Gymnasts swing their legs in circles while they’re moving across “the horse,” using only their hands for support. It’s tricky and technical, and it’s up there for one of the hardest events to master.
- Emphases: Focus on rhythm and upper-body control
Still rings:
This is where strength takes center stage. The rings are suspended high in the air and gymnasts perform holds like the iron cross, controlled swings and powerful (and clean) dismounts. Every movement has to be rock solid and there’s no hiding any flaws here, as shakes or wobbles may end up with point deductions.
- Emphases: Demanding on shoulder and core strength
Vault:
The shortest and quickest event in artistic gymnastics is the vault. It’s over in just a few seconds, but it is explosive and takes a lot of power and precision to execute. It starts with the gymnast sprinting down a 25-meter runway, launching off a springboard and performing high-flying flips and twists – all to aim to stick the landing on a mat. To achieve a high score here, the cleaner and more dynamic the vault is, the better.
- Emphasis: Power, height, form in the air and clean landing
Parallel bars:
What defines the parallel bars? Smooth swings, handstands and flight moves. This event has a gymnast use a mix of strength and swing elements between two bars for a routine, executing things like swings, releases and smooth transitions. It’s a great combination of power and finesse, showing control and clean lines throughout. And like most gymnastic events, a strong landing counts for a lot.
- Emphasis: Power and finesse
Horizontal bar:
Also known as the high bar, the horizontal bar is where gymnasts truly fly. Gymnasts swing around a single bar, performing gravity-defying release moves and rotate multiple times mid-air before regrasping the bar. It’s all about high-speed swings, twisting dismounts and big release moves. It’s easy to lose control, so timing, momentum and grip strength are everything here.
- Emphases: Momentum, grip strength and big air
Men’s world-stage and world championship events:
- Team All-Around: Teams compete across all siex events, scores are combined for a team total.
- Individual All-Around: One gymnast competes in all six events, highest total score wins.
- Individual Apparatus Finals (all six events): Specialists compete for medals on each event individually.
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Women’s artistic gymnastic events
Women’s artistic gymnastics features four main events. Each of these events require a special combination of power, precision and grace. When it comes to scoring, presentation and posture are slightly more emphasized for women overall.
Vault:
Similar to the men’s event, the women’s vault event also starts off on a 25-meter runway. The gymnast springs down the runway, jumps off a springboard, pushes off the vault table and flips and twists in the air before sticking the landing. They use the same type of springboard and vault table, and are also scored on difficulty and execution.
- Emphasis: Power, height and clean landing
Uneven bars:
On the uneven bars, it’s all about swing, flow and flight. This is where gymnasts transition between two bars set at different heights. They have to include routines with giants, twists, release moves and handstands. And all that has to be done with speed, precision and control. In order to get a high score, they’ll need to have clean lines, smooth rhythm and as always, stick the landing.
- Emphasis: Swing, flow and flight
Balance beam:
Flips, leaps, turns, dance elements – and balance, of course – are what the balance beam is all about. The routine starts with a mount, where the gymnast gets onto the beam with control, usually with a jump or acrobatic move. From there, they perform a series of skills that combine dance, strength and precision, all on a beam just 4 inches wide. Every move requires total focus, because even the smallest wobble can cost valuable points. It’s the ultimate test of balance, poise and confidence, where grace meets grit.
- Emphases: Balance, poise and mental focus
Floor exercise:
This is where athleticism and artistry meet, and where gymnasts can show their strength, flexibility, rhythm and expression. For women, the floor exercise requires the gymnast to perform a 90-second routine that combines powerful tumbling passes, leaps, turns and dance elements – all choreographed to music.
- Emphasis: Artistry, rhythm and power
Women’s world-stage events:
- Team All-Around: Countries compete as a team, with gymnasts contributing scores across all four events.
- Individual All-Around: One gymnast competes on all four and the top total wins.
- Individual Apparatus Finals (vault, bars, beam, floor): Top gymnasts compete for medals in each event.
Lily Smith
© Koury Angelo / Red Bull Content Pool
Why it all matters
Icons like Simone Biles have pushed the sport to new heights, inspiring the next generation of gymnasts and fans around the world. Artistic gymnastics is a sport that blends power, precision and artistry. And it’s clear that both men and women bring their own unique style to the sport. From explosive vaults and intricate bar routines to gravity-defying flips and perfectly balanced beam work, each event shows what the human body is actually capable of.
No matter what draws you in, the awe of gymnastics will keep you watching and the passion behind every routine will keep you inspired.