A bluffer’s guide to artistic gymnastics: Rings

Things not to do when performing rings – grimace, struggle, swing uncontrollably. That last one, there’s a reason the full name for the apparatus is the ‘still rings’ but don’t call it that unless you want to sound like a novice. Rings will do just fine.

So rings – what is it? This apparatus, only performed by male gymnasts, is a bit like a series of muscleman poses but 2.5m off the floor, and with a lot less oil. Those who master the rings perform ever more challenging strength moves – count them down as they must hold them for three seconds – and just when you think they are about to blow a gasket they go straight into another seemingly impossible hold. They must also swing to handstand – a controllable swing, mind – and land on a dime from the disorientating dismount.

An example of a fabulous rings routine is courtesy of the "Lord of the Rings" himself, Eleftherios Petrounias. Unfortunately, the Greek defending Olympic champion looks unlikely to qualify for Tokyo 2020, set to take place in 2021, courtesy of the qualification changes due to COVID-19 but if the Doha World Cup goes ahead in June he still has a chance.

What to look out for

The aptly named crucifix is the most challenging and recognisable move on this apparatus. Because it’s such a slow, methodical, apparatus the range of emotions are easily on display, but gymnasts need to make it look easy. Watch out for those giving a cheeky grin to judges, through to those about to burst a blood vessel with the effort, and everything in between.

Sam Mikulak from the United States shows a good line in the crucifix in the first image below, so imagine running a ruler across the top of his arms. And apologies to Japan's twisting master, Kenzo Shirai, but he's just a little bit high there (second image).

It's a tricky apparatus to score highly on – unless you’re Petrounias, of course, who scored 16.00 in the routine above to win him the title in Rio (top scores at international level tend to be in the high 14's and into the 15's).

Scores on all apparatus are made up of an execution score (the E score) and the difficulty score (the D score). Both marks are shown to viewers, so for fans of the old-school perfect 10 scoring system, check out the E score. This starts at 10 and marks are removed by judges for loss of form such as toes that are not pointed or a fall from the apparatus. Petrounias’s E score in the rings performance above was 9.2.

The D score is the total marks calculated by judges from the value given to each move performed by the gymnast via a Code of Points, which is renewed every Olympic cycle.

What to expect in the rings apparatus final

Any apparatus final tends to be a free-for-all in terms of those winning medals, so expect emotional moments from unexpected winners. Many of the top gymnasts will have already competed over three days in the qualifiers, the team event, and individual all-around competitions, so start to get weary by the latter stages of the nine-day event.

This is when the apparatus specialists step up, those who focus on one or two events only, and some of the lower profile gymnastics nations come to the fore. Some gymnasts have literally just qualified for Tokyo 2020 for one of apparatus, via various events and World Cups leading up to the Games. Their country may not have even have qualified a team. So for them, it’s all or nothing in the qualifiers, trying to make the top eight. If they make a mistake, that’s it, Games over.

Keep an eye on Arthur Zanetti, whose Brazil team have qualified for Tokyo 2020, although the athletes themselves are yet to be named. So close to winning gold on rings at his home Games, Zanetti will hope to go one better, especially if the aforementioned dominant force of Petrounias isn’t there. In Rio, the Greek gymnast beat him to the gold medal by quite a margin – in the gymnastics world at least – by two tenths. This time though, Zanetti wants to make history by becoming the first gymnast to win a medal on rings in three Olympic Games and hopes to match the gold he won at London 2012.

The 31-year-old, who has adapted to pandemic restrictions by training in his garage and using furniture at home as props, has a tattoo of his baby son's foot on his arm, easily visible when performing strength moves on rings.

Another gymnast hoping to revive his fortunes on rings is People's Republic of China’s LIU Yang. The 26-year-old won gold on rings at the world championships on home ground at Nanning 2014 – as well as team gold. He was part of the team that won bronze at Rio 2016, but a mistake in the rings apparatus final meant he was out of the medals. During the Chinese Artistic Gymnastics Championships in September last year though, Liu won his specialist event by more than four-tenths over his rivals, scoring 15.400.

Come the men's rings final on Monday 2 August, who will be the one on rings to rule them all?

The artistic gymnastics qualification starts on Saturday 24 July 2021. Next up in the weekly bluffer's guide to artistic gymnastics series, is the pommel horse, published Tuesday 1 June.

See more from the series: A bluffer's guide to artistic gymnastics: Vault