Gymnastics at the 1974 Asian Games

Gymnastics was contested at the 1974 Asian Games, held in Tehran, Iran from September 1, 1974, to September 16, 1974. It was the first time that gymnastics was included as the medal sport in the Asian Games, and only artistic events were contested.^[1] In the Games, only four participating National Olympic Committees (NOCs) succeeded in winning any medal. China lead the medal table, with overall 18 medals (including eight gold), Japan finished second with four gold, and total nine medals. South Korea, although won only four total medals but its two gold helped it to clinch third position in final standings, while North Korea with one gold and 11 overall medals finished last.

Kazuo Horide of Japan won three gold medals in individual all-around, floor exercise and vault, and became most successful male gymnast of the Games. Jiang Shaoyi of China won gold medals in all the individual events (except vault), and became most successful gymnast of the Games. In men's events, China and Japan both won three gold medals, while two gold went to South Korea.^[2] Women's events were widely perceived as being dominated by the China, who claimed nine medals in total, including five golds.^[3]

Medalists

Men

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Team	China (CHN) Cai Huanzong Liao Runtian Pan Chenfei Wu Shoude Yang Mingming Zhao Jiawei	Japan (JPN) Kazuo Horide Kenji Igarashi Takeo Igarashi Ryuji Nakayama Hideyuki Nozawa Hiroshi Sugawara	North Korea (PRK) Kim Sung-il Kim Sung-jin Song Soon-bong
Individual all-around	Kazuo Horide Japan (JPN)	Cai Huanzong China (CHN)	Lee Young-taik South Korea (KOR)
Floor	Kazuo Horide Japan (JPN)	Song Soon-bong North Korea (PRK)	Kim Sung-il North Korea (PRK)
Pommel horse	Cai Huanzong China (CHN)	Yang Mingming China (CHN)	Kim Hwi-chul South Korea (KOR)
Rings	Kim Kuk-han South Korea (KOR)	Liao Runtian China (CHN)	Song Soon-bong North Korea (PRK)
Vault	Kazuo Horide Japan (JPN)	Cai Huanzong China (CHN)	Hideyuki Nozawa Japan (JPN)
Parallel bars	Lee Young-taik South Korea (KOR)	Hideyuki Nozawa Japan (JPN)	Shared silver
		Cai Huanzong China (CHN)
Horizontal bar	Cai Huanzong China (CHN)	Kazuo Horide Japan (JPN)	Pan Chenfei China (CHN)

Women

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Team	China (CHN) Ding Zhaofang Jiang Shaoyi Ning Xiaolin Wang Guiping Wang Xuejun Xin Guiqiu	North Korea (PRK) Hwang Jo-ya Jo Yoon-hi Kim Choon-soo Pak Yung-sook	Japan (JPN) Kazue Hanyu Chieko Kito Kumiko Nagaoka Yuko Nakamoto Misa Watanabe Reiko Yoshida
Individual all-around	Jiang Shaoyi China (CHN)	Ning Xiaolin China (CHN)	Xin Guiqiu China (CHN)
Vault	Reiko Yoshida Japan (JPN)	Hwang Jo-ya North Korea (PRK)	Jo Yoon-hi North Korea (PRK)
Uneven bars	Jo Yoon-hi North Korea (PRK)	Shared gold	Hwang Jo-ya North Korea (PRK)
	Jiang Shaoyi China (CHN)
Balance beam	Jiang Shaoyi China (CHN)	Xin Guiqiu China (CHN)	Jo Yoon-hi North Korea (PRK)
Floor	Jiang Shaoyi China (CHN)	Ning Xiaolin China (CHN)	Jo Yoon-hi North Korea (PRK)

Medal table

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China (CHN)	8	8	2	18
2	Japan (JPN)	4	3	2	9
3	South Korea (KOR)	2	0	2	4
4	North Korea (PRK)	1	3	7	11
Total		15	14	13	42

References

1. Ghose, Vijaya (1993). Limca book of records. Bisleri Beverages Ltd. p. 258.
2. Azawi, Salih al. "Medalists from previous – All Asian Games – Artistic Gymnastics Men". Gymnastics Results. gymnasticsresults.com. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
3. Azawi, Salih al. "Medalists from previous – All Asian Games – Artistic Gymnastics Women". Gymnastics Results. gymnasticsresults.com. Retrieved June 27, 2011.