The 33rd edition of the Summer Olympics is set to begin on July 26th in Paris, with events taking place across 16 cities in France. The Games will conclude on August 11th. Artistic Gymnastics will be held from July 27th to August 5th, while Rhythmic Gymnastics is scheduled for August 8th to 10th. The Porte de la Chapelle Arena and Bercy Arena will host the gymnastics events.
Among the many legendary gymnasts who have graced the Olympic stage, Nikolai Andrianov of the Soviet Union stands out as one of the most decorated male gymnasts of all time. He made his Olympic debut at the 1972 Munich Games, where he won his first gold medal in the floor exercise event, a silver in the team all-around event, and a bronze in the horse vault category. However, it was the 1976 Montreal Games that saw Andrianov at his absolute best. He successfully defended his floor exercise gold and went on to win three more gold medals, two silver medals, and a bronze medal in Montreal. In addition to floor exercise, Andrianov emerged as the champion in the individual all-around, horse vault, and rings events. He secured a medal in every event he competed in, except for the horizontal bar event.
In his third and final Olympic appearance at the 1980 Moscow Games, Andrianov defended his horse vault gold and played a key role in helping his Soviet team win a gold in the team all-around event. He also won two silver medals and a bronze medal individually. His bronze medal in the horizontal bar event marked his maiden success in that particular event at the Olympics. Beyond the Olympics, Andrianov was also the still rings champion at the World Championships between 1974 and 1978. Throughout his Championships career, he accumulated four gold and nine silver medals. At the European Championships, Andrianov secured an impressive nine gold, six silver, and two bronze medals across just three editions of the tournament.
Andrianov retired from active competition in 1980 but continued to contribute to the sport as a coach of the USSR national junior team for 12 years. One of his notable students was Vitaly Scherbo of Belarus, who went on to win 10 Olympic medals. Later, Andrianov also coached the Japanese men’s team that won the team all-around gold at the 2004 Athens Games. Before his passing, Andrianov dedicated his time to training gymnasts at a gymnastics school in Russia, where he himself had trained.
Boris Shakhlin, another Soviet gymnast, achieved remarkable success with 13 Olympic medals (joint-second most) across three editions of the Games. He holds the record for the most individual gold medals by a male gymnast at the Olympics, with a total of seven. Shakhlin’s Olympic journey began at the 1956 Melbourne Games, where he won a gold medal in the pommel horse event and assisted his Soviet teammates in securing a gold medal in the team all-around event. However, it was at the 1960 Rome Olympics that Shakhlin truly dominated the gymnastics medal tally. He won a medal in every event he participated in, including defending his pommel horse gold and claiming three more gold medals in the individual all-around, parallel bars, and horse vault events. He also added two silver and a bronze medal to his collection during that edition of the Games.
In his third and final Olympic appearance at the 1964 Tokyo Games, Shakhlin emerged as the horizontal bar champion, adding a silver and a bronze medal to his impressive record. Beyond the Olympics, Shakhlin competed in several World Championships editions, earning 14 medals in total. At the 1958 Moscow Championships, he secured four individual gold medals in the all-around, horizontal bar, parallel bars, and pommel horse events. Shakhlin was forced to retire from the sport after suffering a heart attack at the age of 35. In 1968, he joined the FIG Men’s Technical Committee and remained active until the 1990s. He then transitioned to a role as a lecturer in Kyiv, Ukraine. Shakhlin received the Order of Lenin, the highest civilian award in the Soviet Union, in 1960 and was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2002 for his exceptional achievements.
Competing during an era dominated by Soviet gymnasts, Takashi Ono of Japan managed to accumulate 13 medals throughout his Olympic career, placing him joint-second on the all-time list. Ono’s Olympic journey began at the 1952 Helsinki Games, where he won an individual bronze medal in the horse vault event. He surpassed this achievement at the 1956 Melbourne Games, winning his maiden Olympic gold medal in the horizontal bar event. He also secured three silver and a bronze medal in the same edition.
At the 1960 Rome Games, Ono successfully defended his horizontal bar gold and added two more gold medals in the team all-around and horse vault events. He also collected two bronze medals and a silver medal during the same tournament. Furthermore, Ono served as the flagbearer for Japan in Rome that year. In his final Olympic appearance, Ono, the oldest member of the Japanese all-around team, played a vital role in securing a gold medal for his team at the age of 33. This marked his fifth Olympic gold medal. Ono retired from the sport as the most successful Japanese gymnast. For his exceptional skills and contributions to the sport, he was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1998.
Sawao Katō represented Japan at three Olympics between 1968 and 1976 and was a prominent figure in Japan’s challenge to the Soviet Union’s dominance in gymnastics during the 1970s. Katō holds the record for the most gold medals (eight, team or individual) among male gymnasts in the history of the Olympics. He made his Olympic debut at the 1968 Mexico City Games, where he won two individual gold medals, one in the all-around and the other in the floor exercise event. He also contributed to his team’s victory in the all-around event, while also securing an individual bronze in rings.
At the 1972 Munich Games, Katō won two gold and two silver medals, all in individual events. He and his team successfully defended their all-around gold against the Soviet Union. At the 1976 Montreal Games, Katō defended his parallel bars gold and added a silver medal in the individual all-around event. Notably, the Japanese all-around team, featuring Katō, defeated the Soviet Union again to win its third consecutive gold medal in the event at the Olympics. Katō retired from the sport at the age of 29. He went on to become a professor at Tsukuba University in Tokyo, where he had completed his studies. Katō also served as the vice president of the Technical Commission of the International Gymnastics Federation for a period of time. He was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2001.
Alexei Nemov, another accomplished Russian gymnast, boasts an impressive 12 Olympic medals. Born in 1976, Nemov made his Olympic debut at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where he won an individual gold in the horse vault and helped his team win the team all-around event. Nemov also secured a silver and three bronze medals in that edition of the Games. At the 2000 Sydney Games, despite several injuries, Nemov managed to win two individual gold medals, one in the horizontal bar and the other in the all-around event. He also added a silver and three bronze medals to his collection.
At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Nemov failed to win a medal. His best performance came in the horizontal bar event, where he finished in fifth place. The same Olympic edition saw Nemov at the center of a judging controversy. However, in the following year, he was awarded a Fair Play Award by the International Fair Play Committee. Beyond the Olympics, Nemov collected five gold, four silver, and four bronze medals during his World Championships career between 1994 and 2003. Meanwhile, at the European Championships, Nemov won three golds and a bronze across three editions of the tournament. He also contributed to the Russian team’s victories in the European Team Championships in 1999 and 2003. Nemov, widely considered the most successful gymnast after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2017.
