Gymnastics at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's vault

The men's vault event at the 2020 Summer Olympics is scheduled to take place on 24 July and 2 August 2021 at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre.[1] Unlike other the other apparatus events, the vault requires gymnasts to perform two exercises in order for results to count towards the vault final; most of the gymnasts perform only one (if they are participating in team or individual all-around) or none (if they are participating in only other apparatus). Approximately 20 gymnasts from 15 nations (of the 98 total gymnasts) are expected to compete in the two-exercise vault in the qualifying round.[2]

Men's vault at the Games of the XXXII Olympiad
Olympic artistic gymnastics
Venue	Ariake Gymnastics Centre
Dates	24 July 2021 (qualifying) 2 August 2021 (final)
Competitors	~20 from ~15 nations

Background

This will be the 25th appearance of the event, which is one of the five apparatus events held every time there were apparatus events at the Summer Olympics (no apparatus events were held in 1900, 1908, 1912, or 1920).

Qualification

A National Olympic Committee (NOC) could enter up to 6 qualified gymnasts: a team of 4 and up to 2 specialists. A total of 98 quota places are allocated to men's gymnastics.

The 12 teams that qualify will be able to send 4 gymnasts in the team competition, for a total of 48 of the 98 quota places. The top three teams at the 2018 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships (China, Russia, and Japan) and the top nine teams (excluding those already qualified) at the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships (Ukraine, Great Britain, Switzerland, the United States, Chinese Taipei, South Korea, Brazil, Spain, and Germany) earned team qualification places.

The remaining 50 quota places are awarded individually. Each gymnast can only earn one place, except that gymnasts that competed with a team that qualified are eligible to earn a second place through the 2020 All Around World Cup Series. Some of the individual events are open to gymnasts from NOCs with qualified teams, while others are not. These places are filled through various criteria based on the 2019 World Championships, the 2020 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup series, continental championships, a host guarantee, and a Tripartite Commission invitation.

Each of the 98 qualified gymnasts are eligible for the vault competition, but due to the requirement that the gymnast perform two vault exercises in the qualifying round (rather than the one needed to count for team and individual all-around events), many gymnasts do not attempt to qualify for the vault final.

The COVID-19 pandemic delayed many of the events for qualifying for gymnastics. The 2018 and 2019 World Championships were completed on time, but many of the World Cup series events were delayed into 2021.

Competition format

The top 8 qualifiers in the qualification phase (limit two per NOC) advance to the apparatus final. For the vault, only gymnasts who perform two exercises on the vault are considered for the final; the average score of the two exercises is counted. The finalists again perform two vaults. Qualification scores are then ignored, with only final round scores (average of the two exercises) counting.

Schedule

The competition is held over two days, Saturday, 24 July and Monday, 2 August. The qualifying round (for all men's gymnastics events) is the first day; the apparatus final is on the second day.[1]

All times are Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)

Date	Time	Round
Saturday, 24 July 2021	10:00 14:30 19:30	Qualifying
Monday, 2 August 2021	17:00	Final

References

1. "Artistic Gymnastics Competition Schedule". Tokyo 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
2. "Qualification System – Games of the XXXII Olympiad – Artistic Gymnastics" (PDF). International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 30 November 2020.