Pin It

London 2012 Olympic Rhythmic Gymnastics

travoholic | Jul 2, 2010 |

0 Comments | Rating: 0

A combination of dance, gymnastics and the art of ballet has made rhythmic gymnastics a popular and beautiful sport. This sport only has female participants during the Olympic Games, although it is slowly becoming more popular with male athletes. In the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games a solo all around event was added as an official event. The team event was added later in 1996 for the summer games in Atlanta. To be a star in this sport you must have great flexibility, balance, strength and coordination.

Excitement is building for the London 2012 Olympics and these young female athletes are hard at work. Preparation for such an event takes years with many of these ladies beginning at a young age. Olympic rhythmic gymnastics eligibility requires a participant to be at least 16 years of age during the Olympic year.

Rhythmic gymnasts perform with their equipment instead of performing on it. Athletes use an apparatus during their routines and perform their choreography to music. These apparatuses are the ribbon, hoop, ball, club and rope. Two different ones can be used together during a routine. Also involved in each routine are leaps, jumps and tosses. These movements are designed to showcase their skills along with their grace and dancing ability. It takes a lot of coordination to present these difficult tumbling moves and the gymnasts often make it look easy.

These complex routines are performed as an individual or team. For the individual competition the ladies will perform with 4 of the apparatuses as one is rotated out every 2 years. Teams are made up of 5 ladies. The team competition consists of two different performances. In the first routine each member of the team will use the same apparatus. During their second routine two different apparatuses will be used.

Each routine will earn them a score from a panel of judges. The score for each apparatus can be as high as 20 points. Technical scores begin at 10 and each mistake will result in a deduction. These faults range from using the apparatus incorrectly to losing the apparatus. Artistic scores make up the second half of their total. Unlike the technical score this one begins at 0 and goes up based on the difficulty and accuracy of the skills performed. A great routine embodies a unique performance with fantastic choreography, great form and execution, as well as complete control of the apparatus. The intense pressure can get to the performers and a small mistake can cost a huge loss in points.

Following the tragic loss of a two time Olympic medalist, Natalia Lavrova, the team from Russia hopes to make a strong showing in the London 2012 Olympic Games. They took gold medals in the individual all around and team competition in the last Olympic Games to defend their previous Gold win. Although Russia is a powerhouse in the world of rhythmic gymnastics keep an eye out for China, Belarus and teams from Ukraine to have a strong showing.