There are 14 medal events in artistic gymnastics.  Men and women each compete in team and individual all-around events.  There are also 10 individual apparatus finals, six for men and four for women.

The six men's apparatus are:
 
1) Floor exercise                  4) Vault
2) Pommel horse                  5) Parallel bars
3) Rings                               6) Horizontal bar

The four women's apparatus are:

1) Vault                                3) Balance beam
2) Uneven bars                     4) Floor exercise

Artistic gymnastics will take place at the North Greenwich Arena, which is known as the O2 Arena outside of the Olympic Games.

London 2012 Storylines:
Who will make a successful comeback?  The American team could feature three returning stars  in four-time Olympic medallist Shawn Johnson, 2008 Olympic all-around champion Nastia Liukin and 2004 Olympic all-around champion Paul Hamm, all of whom are back in the gym.

Led by Aliya Mustafina and Viktoria Komova, the Russian women look to win their first team title since the end of the Soviet era.  Even when the Unified Team won in Barcelona 1992, only one of the six women was born in Russia.

The host country has several medal hopes.  Beth Tweddle, the 2010 World Champion in uneven bars, looks to become the first female British gymnast to win an Olympic medal since 1928.  Pommel horse specialist Louis Smith won bronze in Beijing 2008, the first Olympic gymnastics medal by an individual British man since 1908, and added silver at the 2010 World Championships.

Canada's Outlook:
Canada has won just one medal in artistic gymnastics – the gold by Kyle Shewfelt in floor exercise in Athens 2004.

The current team is led by Nathan Gafuik, who finished 17th in the individual all-around in Beijing 2008, the second-best ever result for a Canadian man.  The up-and-comer is Jackson Payne who won the individual all-around at the 2011 Canadian Championships, along with two gold medals in the individual apparatus finals. 

The men's team suffered a major disappointment at the Olympic Test Event in London in January when they failed to earn a berth to the London 2012 Olympics.  Canada will send a single male gymnast to London, however the identity of the athlete is still to be determined.

Meanwhile the women's team came through in the clutch and secured a berth to London 2012 at the Olympic Test Event, finishing second overall behind Italy.

The top two Canadian women are Kristina Vaculik and Peng Peng Lee.  Vaculik missed a year of competition, including the 2008 Olympic Games, due to osteochondritis dissecans in her right elbow.  In her return to the world championships in 2010 she narrowly missed qualifying for the individual all-around final.  Meanwhile Lee was the top all-around Canadian in the Olympic qualifying competition.


Other International Athletes to Follow:

MEN

Kohei Uchimura – Japan
 

• Has won three straight World individual all-around titles (2009-2011)
• Captured four medals at 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships (2g, 1s, 1b)
• Won the silver medal in the individual all-around in Beijing 2008 and also helped Japan win silver in the team event

• Won his first world championship medal in 2010, taking bronze in the individual all-around
• Was the emotional leader of the American men in Beijing 2008, helping them to a bronze medal in the team event while also winning silver in the horizontal bar

• Won the 2010 World individual all-around title in her first year of senior eligibility and led Russia to its first World team title since the break-up of the Soviet Union
• Won three individual apparatus silver medals at the 2010 World Championships, making her the first female gymnast to win five medals at a single world championship since 2001
• Missed 2011 World Championships with a knee injury

• Expected to give Russia an almost unbeatable 1-2 punch with Mustafina after a spectacular junior career which saw her win individual all-around gold at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games with a higher score than Mustafina had in winning the senior World title
• Won three medals (1g, 2s) at 2011 World Championships in her first year of senior eligibility