OLYMPIC REPORTS

COMING SOON

1996 Atlanta Olympic Gymnastics
2000 Sydney Olympic Gymnastics
2004 Athens Olympic Gymnastics
2008 Beijing Olympic Gymnastics

Key GB moments at the Olympic Games

1900

The second Olympic Games are held in Paris. Lloyd Phillips from Newport, South Wales takes part along with four other gymnasts, William Pearce from London, William Connor, Broadbec, and Hiatt.

Welsh Gymnast Lloyd Philips at the 1900 Olympics

Above – Welsh Gymnast Lloyd Philips at the 1900 Olympics

1908

1908 London Olympics
Wallter Tysall (Birmingham Athletic Institute)  SILVER

First Olympic medal for GB. 45 gymnasts listed in the team that came 6th

1908 Walter Tysall

Photo courtesy of Linda Russell

1912

1912

Stockholm Olympics
6th – 15th July
Individual competition included high bar, parallel bars, pommels and rings.
Team GB 23 men Albert Betts, Harry Dickenson, Samuel Hodgetts, Alfred Messenger, Edward Pepper, Charles Vigurs, Samuel Walker, John Whitaker, Sidney Cross, Bernard Wallis Franklin, Edward Potts, Reginald Potts, George Ross, Henry Oberholzer, Charles Simmons, Arthur Southern, Ronald McLean, Charles Luck, Herbert Drury, William McKune, William Tilt, William Cowhig, Leonard Hanson

Men’s Team – BRONZE

1920

Antwerp Olympics. British Men’s Team competed.

1920 Antwerp Squad of 24 group exercise. JJ Cook coach at front

Photo shows – GB 1920 Antwerp Squad of 24 performing a group exercise with coach JJ Cook at front.

1924

1924 Olympics Paris – British Men’s Team competed.

1924 Men's team left JJ Cook coach extreme right Charles West Leigh brothers Ernest & Stanley centre front.

1924 Men’s team left JJ Cook coach extreme right Charles West Leigh brothers Ernest & Stanley centre front.


First British Championships held for Women in Swindon.

1928

Olympics Amsterdam
Women compete for the first time. GB Ladies Team (12 gymnasts) – BRONZE (team event only for women)

1928 GB Olympic Men's Gymnastics Team

1928 GB Olympic Men’s Gymnastics Team

Photo shows the GB Men’s Team comprising gymnasts – E. Warren, H.J. Fischett, Gilbert Charles Raynes, W. Cronin, E. Walton, T.B. Parkinson, A.J. Whitford and S. Humphreys.

1936

Team GB compete at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Read full report on the 1936 Olympics. Last Olympics before outbreak of World War II.

Edna Earl at the 1936 Olympics. Edna was part of the British team

Photo shows Edna Earl competing on the Uneven Bars.

1936, the men training at Sutton Coldfield in preparation for Olympics; they never went

GB men training at Sutton Coldfield in preparation for Olympics, but in the end, they did not travel.

The Gymnast magazine ceases. 

1948

1948

1948 Olympic Games in London – 2 teams represent GB. Much of their training is done in poor conditions including in Hyde Park. German POW Helmut Bantz helps the men’s team with their training. Read the full Olympic report here.

1960

Two full teams selected for the Olympics in Rome. At the last minute, funding is withdrawn for the 2 coaches, Frank Turner and Edna Gross. They pay their own way.

British 1960 Men's & Women's Olympic teams on their way.

British 1960 Men’s & Women’s Olympic teams on their way.

First schoolboys course held at Swaylands Kent.

London, Manchester & Liverpool YMCAs and The London Gym Club ( a total of 65 male gymnasts) perform before the FA Cup at Wembley performing on High bar, 2 vaulting tables and floor work with hand balancing. Date 23rd April.

FA Cup 23.4.60 YMCA gym clubs Manchester, Liverpool London & London Gym in display before the match at Wembley

1984

Los Angeles Olympics – 2 teams of 6 take part. 2 Rhythmic gymnasts take part. 

GB Men & Women gymnasts participate in the Alternative Olympics Czechoslovakia. (The Eastern Block Olympics as they boycotted Los Angeles).

British Gymnastics aims to give all disabled people regardless of impairment or ability the chance to participate in every form of the sport. Disability Gymnastics recognised as an official discipline.

John Atkinson appointed Technical Director.

Colin Still becomes full time National Coach for women, a post he had held in an honorary position since 1981.

Susan Cheesebrough with Colin Still at the World Championships

Susan Cheesebrough with Colin Still at the World Championships

Lloyd Readhead appointed as National Coach for men.

1988

BAGA celebrates its centenary year with a mass display at Wembley arena.

BBAGA Centenary stamp 1988

BAGA Centenary stamp 1988

Seoul Olympics – 2 women and 2 men take part. 1 rhythmic gymnast competes.

Princess Anne opens the new dedicated gym at Lilleshall.

1992

Barcelona Olympic Games – a team of 6 men and 2 women represent GB.

Some male gymnasts are centralized with their training at Lilleshall.

Adrian Stan from Romania is appointed National Coach for women’s artistic gymnastics.

Aerobic Gymnastics introduced in Great Britain.

2000

Sydney Olympic Games – a team of 6 women and 1 man represent GB.

Alan Somerville becomes CEO for British Gymnastics following a variety of General Secretaries.  BG finances are in a poor state. Alan Somerville changes this around.

British Gymnastics membership now up to 100,000.

2004

Athens Olympic Games – a team of 6 women represent GB. 

2005

Britain announced as host for 2012 Olympic Games. British Gymnastics launches new strategy to host a European or World Championships each 4 year Olympic cycle.

2008

Beijing Olympics – a team of 6 women and 2 men represent GB. 100 years after Walter Tyslall wins a silver medal, Louis Smith wins Britain’s next Olympic medal, winning bronze on pommel horse.

The Junior men’s team wins gold at the European Championships beating Russia.

2012

The Senior British men’s team wins gold at the European Championships.

The Olympic Games is held in London with gymnastics at the North Greenwich Arena. GB men win bronze medal in the team event.  This is followed by 3 individual medals, silver and bronze for Louis Smith & Max Whitlock on pommels and Beth Tweddle wining bronze on bars. Behind the scenes, British Gymnastics’ events team run the gymnastics competitions in the North Greenwich Arena (AKA the 02 Arena) and Wembley stadium for the Rhythmic Gymnastics.

2012 GB men's team Bronze

2012 Olympics GB men’s team Bronze

British Gymnasts are now more popular than any other time in our history. TV audiences are higher than ever and our top gymnasts achieve recognition off the competition floor

Gymnastics as a sport is more popular and membership numbers exceed 300,000 for the first time

2016

Rio Olympic Games – GBR wins 2 gold medals, Max Whitlock wins floor exercise and pommel horse. Louis Smith wins silver on pommels, Amy Tinkler wins bronze on floor and Nile Wilson wins bronze on high bar. Max wins bronze medal in the all-around. Bryrony Page wins the silver medal on trampoline.

Max Whitlock going for glory in Rio with third medal

Photo BG

British Gymnastics wins Governing Body of the Year award.

2021

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games are delayed and take place in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The women’s artistic team won the bronze for the first time since 1928.

Max Whitlock wins gold again on the Pommels making him a 3-time medal winner at three consecutive Olympics on the Pommel Horse.

Whitlock Max winning Pommel at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Courtesy Garry Bowden Sport in pictures - British Gymnastics

Bryony Page wins the bronze medal in the women’s trampoline event at the Tokyo Olympics, making her a 2-time Olympic medallist.  She also becomes the 2021 World Champion making her the first world champion in this discipline and our most successful trampoline gymnast.

2020 Olympic Games - GB WA team with bronze medals

2021 Bryony Page bronze medal at Tokyo - BG

Photos of Bryony Page and Max Whitlock – BG