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.
Gymnastics at the 2000 Summer Olympics
No compulsory routines were performed in artistic gymnastics at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Instead, all participating gymnasts, including those who were not part of a team, participated in a qualification round. The results of this competition determined which teams and individuals participated in the remaining competitions, which included:Andreea Raducan was the original winner of the Women's All-Around competition, but her gold medal was stripped when she tested positive for a banned substance contained in a cold medicine. The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique Executive Board announced on 27 February 2010 following an investigation into the Chinese team for violations of the minimum age for senior gymnastics competitions (must be 16). The FIG noted Dong Fangxiao was entered as 17 years old when she was actually 14. Her 1999 World Championships titles have been stripped. In April 2010, nearly ten years after the results, the IOC officially stripped China of its women's team medal. The now-third place team from the United States was awarded the Bronze at the 2010 national championships, held at the XL Center in Hartford, CT.