2000 BC Egyptians artefacts first depicted gymnastics 800 BC Greece, China, Persia and India used gymnastics for military training. 18th Century Germany popularised gymnastics for physical fitness 18th Century Gustmuths wrote first gymnastics book 1881 Federation International de Gymnastique (FIG) founded 19th Century Curative 'medical gymnastics' develops in Sweden 1952 Gymnastic events debut in the Olympics 1960 Japan's Masao Takemoto won Olympic gold at age 40 1962 First World Gymnastics Championships 1972 The USSR's Olga Korbut takes three golds at the Munich Olympics 1976 Gymnastics legends Nadia Comaneci and Nelli Kim became the first perfect 10s in history at Montreal Olympics 1978 Gymnastics debuts at the XI Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada 1980s The Soviet Union took men's gymnastics by storm 1992 Bela Karolyi retired. He flamboyantly created champions like Nadia Comaneci 1995 The FIG recorded 124 affiliations worldwide 1996 World Championships first held in Japan, Asia |