Artistic gymnastics
In 1881, the FIG was founded, and it remains the governing body of international gymnastics. It initially included only three countries and was called the European Gymnastics Federation until 1921, when the first non-European countries joined the federation and it was reorganized into its present form. Gymnastics was included in the program of the 1896 Summer Olympics, but women have been allowed to participate in the Olympics only since 1928. The World Championships, held since 1903, were open only to men until 1934. Since that time, two branches of artistic gymnastics have developed: women's artistic gymnastics (WAG) and men's artistic gymnastics (MAG). Unlike men's and women's branches of many other sports, WAG and MAG differ significantly in apparatus used at major competitions and in techniques.
Major achievements in gymnastics by nation
For the making of the list, results from four major senior-level international competitions were consulted, as follows: 1) the different editions of the World Gymnastics Championships, organized by FIG for each of the gymnastics disciplines; 2) the FIG World Cup; 3) the Olympic Games; and 4) the World Games, in which gymnastics disciplines that are not yet part of the Olympic Games are contested. According to the 2018 Technical Regulations established by the FIG, as well as the statutes of the organization, these are all considered official FIG competitions. FIG also considers the defunct Four Continents Championships as an official competition, but since the tournament excluded nations from Europe, results have not been included. The Olympic Games, the World Championships, the FIG World Cup and the World Games are the only senior international competitions currently listed on individual profiles at the official FIG database, what indicates their high level of importance.