12 story library more to explore 12 REASONS TO LOVE GYMNASTICS by Joanne Mattern
Gymnastics Has Been Around for a Long Time Gymnastics has been around for thousands of years The ancient Greeks used the word to describe exercises However these exercises did not include the gymnastics events we know today Only tumbling and a type of jumping over objects took place in the ancient world Later people saw gymnastics as good exercise They taught the sport in schools It was also good training for war In 1813 Friedrich Ludwig Jahn opened a playground in Germany He used equipment such as the parallel bars and the pommel horse His goal was to build muscles in athletes Friedrich Ludwig Jahn’s playground in Berlin 1 4
Milwaukee Turners 1880 legs and upper body Jahn is called the father of modern gymnastics German immigrants brought gymnastics to the US in the late 1800s Competitions were held in the US and around the world By 1896 gymnastics was popular enough to be one of the sports in the first modern Olympic games 1860 Year the first gymnastics festival was held in Germany The festival called Turnfest included competitors from all over Europe Members of the gymnastics club were called Turners Only men were allowed to compete 5
