Chapter 1 THE ANCIENT ORIGINS OF GYMNASTICS Aly Raisman stared up at the Olympic rings almost breathless with excitement She had trained for years as a gymnast for her chance to go to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro Brazil Raisman was one of the best gymnasts in the United States Spectators had come from all over the world to see Raisman and other gymnasts perform at Aly Raisman performs during the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro Brazil 4
the Olympics Millions more were watching on TV at home Raisman prepared to perform her first routine on vault in the women’s all-around final Her big moment had finally come After stunning performances in the all-around Raisman clinched the silver medal She proudly cheered for her teammate Simone Biles who won the gold Gymnastics is one of the most popular sports at the Olympic Games the mega-sporting event that captures worldwide attention every four years The sport of gymnastics evolved along with the modern Olympics But the art of gymnastics has been around much longer than that THE GREEKS AND GYMNASTICS Gymnastics would not exist without the ancient Greeks They were the first people to realize the importance of physical education They believed that the better their bodies felt the better their minds worked 6
The Panathenaic Stadium in Athens Greece is built on the site of an ancient sports stadium which was used around 330 BCE 7
