Summary
Currently, five vaults tie at 5.6 for the highest difficulty value:
- Yang Hak Seon: triple-twisting handspring front layout.
- Yonekura: Tsuk layout with three and a half twists OR Kazamatsu layout with two and a half twists.
- Ri Se Gwang: double front pike with a half twist, also called a piked Dragulescu.
- Ri Se Gwang 2: Tsuk double back with a full twist.
- Shirai 2: Yurchenko layout with three and a half twists.
The most difficult vault performed in men’s gymnastics history is the now-banned front handspring triple front, competed by Igor Radivilov at the 2016 Rio Olympics and valued at 7.0.
The highest vault score of all time is 16.8, which Marian Dragulescu earned at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Vault Finals.
Hardest Vault in Men’s Gymnastics
Currently, in the Men’s Artistic Gymnastics code of points, five vaults tie for the highest difficulty value. Each of the five vaults starts at a value of 5.6. They are:
Yang Hak Seon
EGI
Added to the COP in 2013
Yonkeura
EG I
Added to COP in 2013
Ri Se Gwang
EG III
Added to COP in 2009
Ri Se Gwang 2
EG II
Added to COP in 2009
Shirai 2
EG IV
Added to COP in 2016
A Vault So Hard It Was Banned- the Handspring Triple Front
Briefly, the most difficult vault in Men’s Gymnastics was the front handspring triple front. Igor Radivilov performed the handspring triple front vault at the 2016 Rio Olympics Vault Finals – the vault’s first and only appearance in competition. The judges valued the vault at a 7.0. The FIG named the vault the Radivilov, but then banned the skill for safety reasons. For more details, check out our article about Radivilov’s handspring triple front.
Hardest Vault in Each Element Group
Unlike the other events in Men’s Artistic Gymnastics, vault has five element groups. These element groups are:
In each element group these are the hardest skills:
Highest Vault Score of All Time
The highest vault score of all time is a 16.8, which Marian Dragulescu earned at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Vault Finals. Strangely, he only placed fourth in the finals. Sticking his first vault, Dragulescu made a mistake on his second vault preventing him from earning a medal.
Adding to the drama of the Beijing Vault Final, Leszek Blanik from Poland and Thomas Bouhail from France tied for first with a 16.537. Breaking with the best individual vault score, Blanik took home the gold medal.
Vault difficulty values during the the 2008 and 2012 olympic cycles were the highest they have ever been, with subsequent changes to the code of points reducing difficulty values.