Artistic Gymnastics in 2024: Five things to get excited for in the Olympic year
Legends are returning and dream teams are forming. 2024 will be an extraordinary year for artistic gymnastics with the best of the best taking centre stage in Paris.
Paris 2024 is right around the corner and this year is sure to be an extraordinary one in the world of artistic gymnastics.
Legends are making comebacks and one nation could put together a ‘dream team’ that would rival any other iconic trio in the world of sports, while the new generation of gymnasts has no intention of being shrouded by their icons’ chalk dust.
With the stage set for an Olympic year like no other, 2024 is gearing up to be bigger and better than ever. Here is a selection of the events and names to be excited for in 2024.
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes’ participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
With four events held between 15 February and 20 April across Europe, Asia and Africa, the FIG Apparatus World Cup kicks off the year for international competition, providing an opportunity for apparatus specialists to obtain quotas to Paris.
Each nation can send up to two athletes per apparatus, and the highest ranking two individuals – from nations that have not already secured spots – on each event will obtain a quota, totaling 12 for men and eight for women. Points are built up across the four competitions, and as defined by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), the “three best competitions out of four will be considered”.
Pressure will be on in the coastal Italian town of Rimini for Europe’s male and female athletes as only the all-around winners will obtain Europe’s final Olympic quota for artistic gymnastics.
From the 24-28 April for the men and 2-5 May for the women, the Fiera di Rimini stadium will host Europe’s best as they take strides towards the pinnacle of the sport – the Olympic Games.
In 2023, Türkiye hosted the Championships and saw British greats Jessica Gadirova and Jake Jarman take all-around gold and silver, respectively, in the women’s and men’s competitions. Adem Asil took gold for the men in front of a home crowd.
This year, there is no room for error as hundredths of a point could make the difference between making an appearance in Paris or not.
Türkiye’s Adem Asil: Lifechanging decisions in his quest for greatness
2024 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials
This year’s women’s U.S. Olympic Trials are set to be a global spectacle.
For the first time ever, the last three Olympic all-around champions — Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee — will be throwing their names in the ring for one of five spots on the same U.S. Olympic Team.
The addition of Douglas is the stand-out name, having just announced in July her intention to return to the international scene after last competing at Rio 2016.
The trio is poised to rival Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and ‘Magic’ Johnson’s coveted 1992 “Dream Team” title, as the gymnasts hold the possibility of walking into Paris as teammates with a combined 13 Olympic medals already to their names.
The three legendary athletes leave little room for a next-generation takeover, so up-and-comers like Shilese Jones and Biles’ club mate Joscelyn Roberson have no room for error in 2024.
From 27-30 June in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the best gymnasts in the United States will fight tooth and nail to be chosen as one of five for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team. In Paris, the squad will look to reclaim their team title after taking their first silver since 2008 in Tokyo at the 2020 Games.
Paris 2024 Olympic Games
Kicking off on 27 July – the day after the Opening Ceremony – the individual qualification rounds will see legend after legend step up to their events in attempts to make the individual all-around final and take gymnastics’ most sought after gold.
Taking place in the Bercy Arena, an iconic venue for culture and sport in Paris, the individual qualification will be followed by the team finals, all-around finals and wrap up with the individual apparatus finals that conclude the artistic gymnastics competition on 5 August.
Although Team USA could send the all-star trio of Douglas, Lee and Biles, the level of gymnastics has been raised across the world and none of the three would have an easy path to any of the six Olympic gold medals on offer in the women’s event.
Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade has also been bringing the fire, taking gold in the all-around at the 2022 World Championships and the silver in 2023, less than two points behind Biles. The Brazilian will be a force to be reckoned with in Paris.
USA’s Shilese Jones took the all-around bronze at the 2023 Worlds, followed by the People’s Republic of China’s 16-year-old Qiu Qiyuan, who took the uneven bars title.
Romania’s Sabrina Maneca-Voinea is another name to remember, as the 16-year-old attempts to bring her country’s name back into the conversation of gymnastics powerhouses.
The home crowd will also be cheering on a resurgent Melanie de Jesus dos Santos, who helped her French side to a sensational World team bronze in Antwerp in October. Hot footing it to the US to train alongside Biles appears to have worked its magic on the 23 year old.
For the men, Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto plans to take on Paris 2024 as the reigning all-around champion after becoming the youngest Japanese gymnast to win the Olympic all-around, plus horizontal bar events.
Taking second to Hashimoto at the 2023 Worlds was Ukrainian Olympian Illia Kovtun, with USA’s up-and-comer Fred Richard taking a close third.
With new skills added to the Code of Points, the rulebook that defines the scoring system for each level of competition in the sport, and the level of gymnastics higher than ever, the medal chase is on for Paris.
