3. Read and translate the text: gymnastics

Gymnastics is a sport involving the performance of exercises requiring flexibility, power, balance and coordination. It is one of the most graceful and artistic sports which develops human body harmoniously. The origin of gymnastics can be traced back to the ancient civilizations of China, Persia, India, Greece and Rome. The Germans rediscovered the discipline in the 18th century, and invented most of the apparatus. Gymnastics has been a part of the Olympic Games since the modern Olympics began in 1896 and remains one of the most popular sports in the world. Internationally, all events are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). Competitive artistic gymnastics is the best known of the gymnastic events. It typically involves the women’s events of vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. Men’s events are floor exercise, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and the high bar. Other FIG disciplines include: rhythmic gymnastics, trampolining and tumbling, acrobatic and aerobic gymnastics.

Artistic Events for Women

In the vaulting events, the female gymnast sprints down a 25-metre runway, jumps onto a springboard and vaults across the vaulting table. She may twist around in the air, do multiple somersaults, or perform twisting movements. Women gymnasts don’t have to land into the marked area as men gymnasts do.

In the uneven bars, the gymnast performs a routine on two horizontal bars set at different heights. These bars are made of fiberglass covered in wood laminate, to prevent them from breaking. The width and height of the bars may be adjusted to allow gymnasts to perform swinging, circling, transitional, and release moves, that may pass over, under, and between the two bars.

In the balance beam, the gymnast performs a routine of up to 90 seconds consisting of leaps, acrobatic skills, somersaults, turns and dance elements on a beam. The beam is 125cm from the ground, 500cm long, and 10cm wide. The event requires, in particular, balance, flexibility and strength.

The floor exercise event is executed on a 12m×12m square mat. Gymnasts perform a routine up to 90 seconds. They must choose a musical accompaniment. The routine should consist of tumbling lines, series of jumps, dance elements, acrobatic skills, and turns (or pivots) on one foot.

Artistic Events for Men

In the floor exercises, male gymnasts also perform on a 12m×12m square mat. A series of tumbling passes are performed to demonstrate flexibility, strength, and balance. Men’s floor routines usually last up to 70 seconds and are performed without music. Rules require that male gymnasts touch each corner of the floor at least once during their routine.

A typical pommel horse exercise involves both single leg and double leg work. Single leg skills are generally found in the form of scissors, an element often done on the pommels. In the double leg work however, the gymnast swings both legs in a circular motion (clockwise or counterclockwise depending on preference) and performs such skills on all parts of the apparatus without stopping.

The rings are suspended on wire cables 5.75 meters from the floor, and adjusted in height so the gymnast has enough room to hang freely and swing. He must perform a routine demonstrating balance, strength, power, and dynamic motion while keeping the rings motionless. A routine should have a dismount equal in difficulty to the difficulty of the routine as a whole.

In the vault, male gymnasts compete similarly to female gymnasts. There are some differences though – men have to land within the marked area, the vaulting table is taller, and the vault is more difficult. Top class gymnasts perform multiple twists and somersaults before landing.

In the parallel bars, men perform on two bars a shoulder’s width apart and usually 1.75m high while executing a series of swings, balances, and releases that require great strength and coordination.

In the high bar, gymnasts perform on a flexible steel bar fastened 2.5m above the floor. The gymnast holds the bar with one or both hands as he performs giant swings, release skills, twists, and changes of direction. The routines are ended with spectacular dismounts, such as a triple-back salto.

In team competitions, the winning team (6 gymnasts) is determined by totaling the best scores obtained in each event. At the end of the competition the top 24 gymnasts qualify for the all-around competition, in which the winners are determined by the sum of their individual scores in each event. In the all-around individual competition, a maximum of two athletes from each country can compete. The 8 gymnasts with the highest scores for an individual event during the team preliminary competition qualify for the individual event finals to determine the best in each apparatus. Gymnasts are judged on all of their events including their execution, degree of difficulty, and overall presentation skills.

According to FIG rules, only women compete in rhythmic gymnastics. This is a sport that combines elements of ballet, gymnastics, dance, and apparatus manipulation. The sport involves the performance of five separate routines with the use of five hand-held apparatus – ball, ribbon, hoop, clubs, rope – on a floor area, with a much greater emphasis on the aesthetics rather than the acrobatics. There are also group routines consisting of 5 gymnasts and 5 apparatus of their choice. Rhythmic routines are scored out of 30 possible points; the score for artistry (choreography and music) is averaged with the score for difficulty of the moves and then added to the score for execution.

Trampolining and tumbling competition consists of four events, individual and synchronized trampoline, double mini trampoline, and tumbling (also known as power tumbling). The spectacular nature of competition makes these events very popular with spectators. Since 2000, individual trampoline has been included in the Olympic Games.

Our gymnasts are traditionally successful at the Olympic Games. These are such great names as Nikolai Miligulo, the first Belarusian representative at the Olympics, Yelena Volchetskaya, Larisa Petric, Olga Korbut with her famous “Korbut loop” and “Korbut back flip”, Antonina Koshel who became a gold medallist at the 20th Olympics, Tamara Lazakovich, Nelly Kim possessing five Olympic titles, Svetlana Boginskaya, Svetlana Bayitova, Olga Bicherova, Ivan Ivankov and a six-time Olympic champion Vitali Shcherbo. At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Belarusian rhythmic gymnastics national team won silver medals and Lubov Cherkashina got bronze in the individual competition. At the 2016 Rio Olympic Games Vladislav Goncharov won gold in men’s trampoline which was held for the first time in the Olympic history.