The International Olympic Committee just released the event program for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and it’s official: there will be a mixed event in artistic gymnastics! Gymnastics is following in the footsteps of other core Olympic events like swimming and figure skating, adding a medal event where men and women compete together. The specifics haven’t been shared yet, but what’s known is that it won’t expand the quota — the event will include athletes already in the Games.
I’m totally thrilled by this news. I’ve said before that gymnastics would benefit hugely from a mixed event. Men’s and women’s gymnastics are such distinct disciplines, and seeing them come together is exciting. It’ll also make for an exciting, unpredictable competition, since many countries are strong in one but not the other.
I have a ton of questions, and I’m eager to see how it all unfolds. First, the format: How many athletes make up a ‘mixed team’? Will it be all five men and all five women from both teams (doubtful) or will it be a smaller subset, maybe even just one athlete from each sex? The next big question is how gymnasts will qualify for this event — will it be nominative, meaning an athlete secures a spot for themself, or will qualification be by country, allowing the nation to decide who competes?
The final major question is which apparatus will be used. Logistically, it’s tricky to have all men’s and women’s equipment in the arena at once, as some events share anchor points. Plus, men and women vault at different heights, and adjusting the vault mid-competition can be risky. So, it’s likely not all apparatus will be used to score the competition. That said, the British Championships managed to run all men’s and women’s all-around events simultaneously, so it’s possible. In this case, the issue becomes balance — men have six events, women have four, and if both are meant to contribute equally, will men be allowed to choose which four apparatus they compete on, or will that be set in advance?
My best guess is that the competition format will follow the structure announced for the 2025 European Championships. In that format, each mixed team consists of one male and one female gymnast. The top 16 pairs from qualifications advance to the final. Men compete on floor, parallel bars and high bar, while women compete on vault, beam and floor. Notably, the spots are awarded to individual athletes, not to countries. (Using this qualification format at the last Olympics, the mixed pair team would have been Simone Biles and Frederick Richard.)
I’m curious which countries will excel in the mixed team format — which ones have both strong men’s and women’s programs? The U.S. might not come out on top; while our women are dominant, our men aren’t as strong. The choice of events matters too — removing uneven bars changes things significantly. For example, China’s men are outstanding, and their women are strong but rely heavily on bars and struggle on vault, so this format could hurt them. Similarly, Great Britain has a strong men’s team but tends to shine on pommel horse, which might not be included.
If I had to bet right now, I’d pick Japan to win. They have the strongest men’s team by far — especially in these particular events — and their women are solid as well, with no major weaknesses in the selected apparatus.
