After the 2024 Paris Olympics this year, the pommel horse has been in the news. Between “Pommel Horse Guy” Stephen Nedoroscik earning two bronze medals and the success of both the Men’s and Women’s Gymnastics teams, many people have been trying to learn more about the sport of gymnastics. Let’s take a look at a few of the most common questions about pommel horse and provide some quick answers:
What is the pommel horse in gymnastics?
The pommel horse is an apparatus in Men’s Artistic Gymnastics. The pommel horse itself is made from a rectangular metal frame covered with padding and then leather with two handles on top. Gymnasts perform routines on the pommel horse involving various swings with legs together and apart supported by only the arms. The most common skill on the pommel horse is the circle, a circular swing going from push-up position around and back to push-up position.
Who invented pommel horse? Where does the pommel horse come from?
Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, considered the “father of gymnastics”, invented the modern version of the pommel horse in the early 19th century. However, predecessors date back to the Romans who used a wooden horse to practice mounting and dismounting real horses. Various models used for training knights and equestrian sports have been found across the 17th and 18th centuries as well.
When was pommel horse introduced?
Invented alongside the first gymnastics events in the early 19th century, pommel horse, and gymnastics as a sport, found its way to the first modern Olympics in 1896.
How is pommel horse scored?
Judges give gymnastic routines a difficulty score and an execution score. The difficulty score, or D-Score, is how hard a routine was while the execution score, or E-Score, indicates how good the routine was. The FIG Code of Points defines how judges come up with these scores.
A pommel horse routine can be eight or more skills long, but only the eight highest-difficulty skills count toward the D-Score, and gymnasts can gain additional difficulty by fulfilling any of the four element groups on pommel horse. The E-Score starts at a 10.0 and judges deduct from there when a gymnast makes mistakes.
Once judges determine the D-Score and E-Score, they add the two to give the final score. For example, if a gymnast has a 5.2 D-Score and an 8.7 E-Score, their final score would be 13.9.
Are pommel horse handles adjustable?
The handles of the pommel horse are adjustable. Gymnasts have preferences for how far apart they want the handles, so they can move the handles. In addition, the handles can be taken off the horse. This is great for practicing difficult skills on horse without worrying about hitting the handles. Also, athletes in the USAG have to perform horse without handles in level 6 and 8.
Can “pommel horse guy” see without glasses?
Yes “pommel horse guy” Stephen Nedoroscik can see without his glasses. However, he has a few conditions that impair his vision. Stephen is cross-eyed, known as strabismus, and has a genetic sensitivity to light. Relying more on feel than on sight, it is quite clear that Stephen does not need his glasses to be a master on horse.
Who won gold on pommel horse at the 2024 Paris Olympics?
Irish gymnast Rhys Mclenaghan won the gold medal on pommel with a score of 15.533. Following closely behind, Nariman Kurbanov from Kazakhstan won silver with a 15.433 while US Gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik, “Pommel Horse Guy”, scored a 15.3 to earn bronze. For Rhys and Nariman, these are the first Olympic medals of their careers. Stephen’s medal follows a bronze medal earned in the team final at the Paris Games. Full results can be found here.
Why Don’t Women Do Pommel Horse?
Men’s and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics have different events. Men do pommel horse, still rings, parallel bars, and high bar while women do beam and uneven bars. Although both do Floor and Vault, the rules for these events differ significantly between men and women.
Women’s Gymnastics emphasizes lower body strength while Men’s Gymnastics focuses more heavily on upper body strength. Likewise, Women’s Gymnastics includes elements of dance absent from Men’s Gymnastics. So most of the events Men compete would not fit in Women’s Gymnastics as well.
What is the diameter on the pommel horse handles. Virtually impossible to find in the search engines. I am making my own training equipment using wood dows from the hardware store. Not going to be around an actual pommel horse in a little while so this infor would be great.
Thanks. Your the man.
It appears they should be about 3.4cm in diameter. Apparatus measurements as determined by the FIG can be found here: https://www.gymnastics.sport/publicdir/rules/files/en_Apparatus%20Norms.pdf