Since the late twentieth century, gymnastics has been “must-see” television during the summer Olympics, alongside swimming and track and field. All three sports garner huge ratings and, not coincidentally, feature American excellence. This is particularly true for gymnastics; Sunisa Lee's performance in the 2020 Tokyo games made her the fifth American woman in a row to win gold in the individual all-around. However, as Georgia Cervin reminds readers in Degrees of Difficulty: How Women's Gymnastics Rose to Prominence and Fell from Grace, the popularity of gymnastics and American dominance are not only of recent origin but came at great cost to both the athletes and the sport.
Gymnastics gained prominence during the Cold War, a time when gymnasts’ victories and personalities served as potent weapons in the global fight for symbolic and sporting supremacy. Eastern bloc countries dominated the Olympic podium early on, ultimately changing the sport forever with...
