The Gymnastics Vault
Gymnastics is a sport that originated in Ancient Greece, and the vault was one of the first apparatuses used. In women's artistic gymnastics, there are four events: vault, bars, beam and floor.Vault
The vault was one of the original apparatuses in gymnastics. The vault horse itself has evolved from the pommel style apparatus to a safer model with more surface area. This style is shown below.
Oksana Chusovitna (Germany) competes in the Beijing Olympics
Exercise
The exercise takes around three seconds to complete, with only momentary contact on the apparatus itself. The gymnast has a 25m run to gain energy, then jumps onto the beat board and makes contact with the vault with both hands. After, the gymnast executes a series of twists and/or saltos in different positions and tries to stick the landing. The gymnast is scored based on the difficulty of her vault, her position on the repulsion, height, exactness of position and her landing.Terminology
-Vault horse: the apparatus itself. It is 1.25m high, and the gymnast pushes off of it to complete her vault.-Runway: 25m long, the gymnast does a run towards the vault to gain energy.
-Beat board: Also known as a spring board, the gymnast jumps onto it after her run to give her upward momentum onto the horse.
Fun Facts!
-The original vaulting "horse" was a literal horse! Gymnastics originated as an activity to practice mounts onto the animal.-The word "gymnastics" comes from the greek word "gymnos," which means "naked," because men originally did the exercise nude.
-Vault is the only apparatus in women's gymnastics where the gymnast performs twice.
