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.
List of Olympic female gymnasts for the Soviet Union
Gymnastics events have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1896. Soviet female gymnasts participated in every Olympic Games from 1952 to 1988, except for 1984. A total of 41 female gymnasts represented the Soviet Union. Soviet women won 88 medals at the Olympics – 9 in team all-around, 2 in team portable apparatus, 18 in individual all-around, 15 in balance beam, 17 in floor exercise, 15 in vault, and 12 in uneven bars. The medals included 33 golds. The Soviet Union won the gold medal in team all-around in all nine Summer Olympics that they participated in.