The history of gymnastics began in ancient Greece. Gymnastics was a fitness training program encompassing many forms of athletic activity, including running, wrestling and physical fitness routines. Some forms of gymnastics were included in the Olympics.

The Romans continued the practice. The routines became more oriented toward preparation for training as a soldier. In 393 AD the Emperor Theodosius banned the Olympic Games, which by then had become corrupt, and gymnastics, along with other sports, dwindled.

By 1896, gymnastics was already a part of the Olympics. However, the early gymnastics had events such as running and jumping, but events were narrowed down with time.

• Combination exercises appeared in 1928.
• By the 1954 Olympics, the gymnastics routines as we know them became th...