大象传媒

The grace and elegance of Gymnastics belies the physical strength, mental focus and sheer dedication these athletes require to excel at their chosen sport.

Gymnastics has been enjoyed since ancient times, with evidence that the Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks and Romans participated in versions of the sport.

From around 776BC the Greeks held gymnastics tournaments, including tumbling and rope-climbing skills, and it is believed that these were the forerunner of the Olympic Games.

Gradually though, gymnastics fell from favour and in 393 AD Roman Emperor Theodosianus went so far as to formally ban the sport altogether.

Gymnastics languished for many years until interest was revived in Germany by a man called Fredrick Jahn, who was later to become known as 'the father of gymnastics'.

The International Gymnastics Foundation was formed in 1881 and, seven years later, The British Amateur Gymnastics Association, now known simply as British Gymnastics, was formed in 1888.

Gymnastics has been a hugely popular part of the Olympics since the Games' inception but first appeared at the Edmonton Commonwealth Games in 1974.