Gymnastics Explained

Apparatus final

A final deciding the medals on one apparatus, contested by the eight highest qualifiers on it, with no more than two per country.

An apparatus final is a medal event for a single piece of apparatus — the vault final, the pommel horse final and so on. Under the FIG Technical Regulations, the eight gymnasts with the highest qualification scores on that apparatus take part, with a maximum of two per country. A gymnast can reach an apparatus final without competing in the all-around at all, which is how apparatus specialists win world and Olympic titles.

A few rules are specific to apparatus finals:

  • Vault: finalists perform two vaults from different vault groups, and the final score is their average. To qualify, a gymnast must also perform two vaults in qualification.
  • Ties: on every apparatus except vault, a tie is broken by the higher E-score, then the higher D-score. On vault, the higher of the two individual vaults decides first.
  • Fresh start: qualification scores don’t carry over — everyone starts again in the final.

Related guides

  • Team, All-Around and Apparatus Finals Explained

    Major artistic gymnastics competitions run three kinds of final — team, all-around and apparatus — each with its own qualification rules from the same qualification scores.

  • Vault Numbers, Groups and Difficulty Explained

    Every recognised vault is listed in the Code of Points with a number and a fixed difficulty value, in one of five groups defined mainly by how the gymnast gets onto the table — handspring, Tsukahara or round-off entries.

  • Gymnastics Tie-Break Rules Explained

    When gymnasts tie, the FIG Technical Regulations break the tie with a fixed sequence of criteria — the best apparatus scores in the all-around and team events, then execution and difficulty — and only share the placing if every criterion is equal.

Related terms

  • Qualification

    The opening round of a championship. One set of scores decides who reaches the team final, the all-around final and each apparatus final.

  • Tie-break

    The rules for separating gymnasts or teams on the same score. In apparatus finals, the higher execution score wins first.

  • All-around

    A competition, or a gymnast's total, combining scores from every apparatus in their discipline: four for women, six for men.

  • Team final

    The competition for the team title: the top eight teams from qualification, with three gymnasts competing on each apparatus and every score counting.

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