What is pommel horse in gymnastics? Explaining the origin and Olympics history of men-only event

One specific men's gymnastics event has become the center of attention at the 2024 Olympics: the pommel horse.

Thanks to Team USA's Stephen Nedoroscik, the pommel horse specialist who helped seal the bronze medal in the team all-around, the apparatus has become a point of conversation. While he makes it look easier than it seems, viewers can't fully appreciate how hard the event actually is.

The pommel horse has been a fixture of the Olympic Games for some time now, and its been something many medalists have had to tackle in men's gymnastics in the past. Now, with the pommel horse individual event finals coming rapidly, it's back in the spotlight.

Here's everything you need to know about the pommel horse and its history before the event crowns a champion.

2024 PARIS OLYMPICS
Full Olympics schedule | How to watch in USA | Meet NBC's broadcasters

What is pommel horse?

The pommel horse is a men's gymnastics apparatus originally utilized in the ancient Olympic games.

The apparatus — made of a metal body covered with foam and rubber with two plastic handles (also known as pommels), at least in the present day — originated as a tool to teach young Romans how to mount and dismount horses. The pommel horse later became used in physical fitness when Friedrich Ludwig Jahn developed basic exercises for it.

Those exercises eventually developed into modern Olympic exercises. There are both one-leg and two-leg exercises, the latter of which is considered more difficult, as it involves swinging one's legs around in a circle above the pommel horse. As this happens, the gymnast uses his hands to hold himself up, which takes a great deal of arm, hand and core strength.

Because of this, the pommel horse is one of the hardest gymnastics events in the Olympics. Even so, it has been an enduring part of the Summer Games since it first debuted as an apparatus.

MORE: Who is Stephen Nedoroscik? Glasses-wearing pommel horse specialist leads USA gymnastics to bronze medal at Olympics

When did pommel horse become an Olympic sport?

The pommel horse was introduced as a men's sport at the first modern Olympics in 1896. It was held again in 1904 but did not return as part of an Olympic gymnastics medal event until 1924. Since then, it has been a staple of the men's competition.

How is pommel horse scored?

Scores on every apparatus are made up of an execution score and a difficulty score. The execution score starts at 10, and gymnasts get deducted for things such as bad form, flat feet or a fall. The difficulty score is the total number of points calculated by the judges from the value given to each move performed by the gymnast that determines how hard their routine is relative to other competitors.

Gymnasts with good pommel horse routines cover all three areas of the horse, the middle and both ends, while performing the required scissors elements among continuous circular movements. The only part of the body that should be touching the apparatus is the hands.

Competitors should have rhythm and are permitted to swing through the handstand position, with or without turns. The pommel horse is considered the most difficult of all six men's apparatus, with gymnasts often spending most of each routine on only one arm while their free hand reaches for another part of the pommel or horse. The mount and dismount are important as well.

MORE: Olympics gymnastics medals count

Do women do pommel horse?

The pommel horse is not one of the four apparatuses used in women's gymnastics. The events in women's Olympic gymnastics are as follows:

• Vault
• Uneven bars
• Balance beam
• Floor exercises

Men's gymnasts compete on six apparatuses. Only two — the vault and the floor — are the same as the women's game:

• Vault
• Rings
• Horizontal bar
• Parallel bars
• Pommel horse
• Floor exercises