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.
Artistic gymnastics
While isolated American gymnasts, including Kurt Thomas and Cathy Rigby, won medals in World Championship meets in the 1970s, the United States team was largely considered a "second power" until the mid- to late 1980s, when American gymnasts began medaling consistently in major, fully attended competitions. In 1984, the Olympic men's team won the gold. The team included Tim Daggett, Peter Vidmar, Mitch Gaylord, Bart Conner, Scott Johnson, Jim Hartung, and the team alternate Jim Mikus. Also in 1984, Mary Lou Retton became the first American Olympic all-around champion and won individual medals as well. In 1991, Kim Zmeskal became the first American world all-around champion. At the 1992 Olympics, the American women won their first team medal (bronze), as well as their highest all-around ranking, a silver medal by Shannon Miller, in a fully attended Games. In men's gymnastics, Trent Dimas was able to capture the gold medal on the horizontal bar. This was the second time that an American gymnast, male or female, won a gold medal in an Olympics held outside the United States. The U.S. women's team has become increasingly successful in the modern era, with the 1996 Olympic team victory of the Magnificent Seven in Atlanta, the 2003 Worlds team victory in Anaheim, California, and multiple-medal hauls in both WAG and MAG at the 2004 Olympics. At the 2012 Olympics and 2016 Olympics, the U.S. won the team gold. The United States has produced individual gymnasts such as Olympic all-around champions Carly Patterson (2004), Nastia Liukin (2008), Gabby Douglas (2012), and Simone Biles (2016), and world all-around champions Kim Zmeskal (1991), Shannon Miller (1993, 1994), Chellsie Memmel (2005), Shawn Johnson (2007), Bridget Sloan (2009), Jordyn Wieber (2011), Simone Biles (2013, 2014, 2015, 2018), and Morgan Hurd (2017). Of particular note is that at the 2005 World Championships in Melbourne, American women won the gold and silver the all-around and went 1–2 in every single event final except vault (in which they placed third). They continue to be one of the most dominant forces in the sport. The men's team has also matured, making the medal podium at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics; they also made the podium at the 2003 and 2011 World Championships. Paul Hamm, the most successful U.S. male gymnast, became the first American to win the world all-around title in 2003. He followed this up by winning the gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games. 2010 world all-around bronze medalist Jonathan Horton captured the silver medal on the horizontal bar at the 2008 Olympic Games, and Danell Leyva won the all-around bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games, as well as two silver medals (parallel bars and high bar) at the 2016 Olympics.