12 Best Gymnasts In The World!! Gymnastics is a bunch of physical exercises designed to develop strength and coordination.
It requires a lot of strength, balance, coordination, and flexibility. Gymnastics is a physically demanding sport filled with intricate tricks and impressive stunts performed with style and grace by both genders.
So who are the best gymnasts in the world? If you are curious, this list might quench your curiosity.
This list also serves diversity, as Dipa Karmakar’s participation in the Summer Olympics made her the first Indian woman to do so in 57 years.
Although now, she is on a 21-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance till mid-July 2023.
Don’t skip straight ahead; let’s read the entire article before choosing your favorite!
Let’s pike in, shall we?
Quick View
| Gymnasts | Country |
| 12. Nina Derwael | Belgium |
| 11. Mai Murakami | Japan |
| 10. Gabby Douglas | United States |
| 9. Manrique Larduet | Cuba |
| 8. Danell Leyva | United States |
| 7. Oksana Chusovitina | Uzbekistan |
| 6. Donell Whittenburg | United States |
| 5. Shang Chusong | China |
| 4. Dipa Karmakar | India |
| 3. Sam Mikulak | United States |
| 2. Kohei Uchimura | Japan |
| 1. Simone Biles | Simone Biles |
Best Gymnasts In The World
- Nina Derwael
Starting from the bottom of our list on number 12, we have Nina Derwael from Belgium, a two-time World (2018 and 2019) and European champion (2017 & 2018) on uneven bars.
In the 2019 European Games, she was the champion on the balance beams and a two-time Belgian national all-around champion (2015 and 2018).
Born on March 26, 2000, she’s undisputedly Belgium’s first and most successful gymnast who has made an immense impact internationally.
We are sure she’ll climb to one of the best gymnasts in the world in no time.
Nina has acquired six gold, one silver, and two bronze medals while representing Belgium in international championships.
And for someone budding in her gymnastics career, that’s a perfect start!
She is 1.65 m tall, and it is unusual for a gymnast to be tall because being small is advantageous in gymnastics.
Nina represented Belgium at the 2016 Summer Olympics and was scheduled to compete at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, later which got canceled due to Covid.
Derwael, at the 2022 World Championships in Liverpool, helped the Belgian team finish 11th in qualifications and even qualified for the uneven bars final in second place individually.
- Mai Murakami
Mai Murakami, a Japanese artistic gymnast, won the 2017 World Champion in the floor exercise.
She’s the 2018 all-around silver and floor exercise bronze medallist. A four-time Japanese national overall champion (2016-2018, 2020) represented Japan at the 2016 Olympics.
Mai has two gold, two silver, and two bronze medals in international championships.
She started gymnastics when she was just two and has earned numerous awards.
When the 2020 Olympics was canceled, Murakami competed in All-Japan senior and all-Japan championships and won seven gold, four silver, and three bronze medals.
Mai is also the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic medal.
- Gabby Douglas
Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas is an American artistic gymnast born on December 31, 1995, who became the first American to claim gold medals in the team and individual all-around events.
Also, Gabby is the first African American to win the all-around title at the 2012 Olympics Games in London.
Douglas won World all-around silver medal in 2015.
She earned the nickname “The flying squirrel” for her ability to gain extraordinary height in the air when released from the apparatus on the uneven bars.
Douglas and her teammates (Wieber, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, and Kyla Ross) captured the first U.S. women’s team gold medal in 1996.
Gabby has three Olympics gold medals, two for the team and one for all-around in London and Rio de Janeiro.
She won ten gold and one silver medal in the Olympics while representing the USA in international championships.
Gabby has stayed atop the sport after earning huge success before, making her one of the best gymnasts in the world right now.
According to several gymnastics media outlets, including The Gymternet and Gymcastic, Douglas has returned to training at WOGA.
Valeri Liukin, the WOGA coach, acknowledged to NBC in February 2023 that Douglas had been working out at his facility.
- Manrique Larduet
At Number 9, we have Mr. Manrique Larduet Bicet, a Cuban artistic gymnast.
He grew up in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, and is famous for his history-making silver medal at the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
He also became the first Cuban since 2004 to appear as an Olympian.
Manrique is known for his high bars and all-around performance. Therefore, he is a threat as he already has a chance to become the most successful Cuban gymnast, if not the best in the world.
Just 26, Manrique has twelve gold, twenty silver, and four bronze medals competing for Cuba in International championships.
In 2016, the International Gymnastics Federation named a parallel bars element after him, where ‘Larduet’ is a double somersault with a twist as a finishing element.
Last, Manrique qualified to represent Cuba at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the men’s artistic gymnastics all-around event.
- Danell Leyva
Danell Leyva is a Cuban–American gymnast who competed for the United States.
Leyva competed for the United States as a two-time Olympian (2012, 2016) and three-time Olympic medallist (2 silver, one bronze.)
In 2009, he became the youngest member to join the US senior national team at 17 and earned the nickname D.J.
On October 11, 2020, on National Coming Out Day, the gymnast revealed himself as bisexual and pansexual via Twitter.
His coming out has helped many budding young athletes express themselves.
The Class of 2023 will be inducted on August 26, 2023, and the three-time Olympic medalist, Danell Leyva, is included.
It will be held in partnership with the 2023 U.S. Gymnastics Championships and USA Gymnastics’ annual National Congress and Tradeshow.
- Oksana Chusovitina
At 7, we have Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina, who, at 46, became the most senior female gymnast to qualify for the Olympic Games.
Oksana has competed in eight Olympics, participating in three different countries the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan and Germany.
Her career as an elite gymnast has spanned over a quarter-century, and she says she only got better like a fine wine.
Oksana has ten gold, fifteen silver, and nine bronze medals competing in the International championships.
She mentioned that her current objective is to train and participate in the Paris, France, 2024 Olympic Games.
- Donell Whittenburg
At number six on our list, we have Donell Whittenburg, one of America’s rising male artistic gymnasts.
Born August 18, 1994, in Baltimore, Maryland, he was awarded a bronze medal at the 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
Donell has participated in World Championships, Pan American Games, FIG World Cup, FIG World Challenge Cup, etc.
With a fast rise, he has earned two gold, seven silver, and two bronze medals.
Whittenburg has one skill in gymnastics named after him, a triple-piked dismount on still rings.
Donell was at the 2022 World Challenge Cup in Paris, where he won the bronze medal on parallel bars and rings.
- Shang Chusong
At number five, we have Shang Chusong, a Chinese artistic gymnast from Zhangjiajie, China.
Born on March 18, 1996, Chusong is a senior elite gymnast representing China at the World Championships in 2013, 2014, and 2015.
Chusong has challenged the US women playing on the all-around podium with her excellent skills while standing at 1.42 m and weighing 74lb.
Chusong became the Chinese national all-around champion for two consecutive years (2015 and 2016).
Competing in the Olympics 2016, the captain of her team won bronze in Rio de Janeiro.
In addition, Shang has competed in World Championships, Asian Games, Asian Championships, and Pacific Rim Championships outside her country.
She has earned four gold, five silver, and three bronze medals representing China worldwide.
While there was an age issue when the Chinese gymnast joined the Olympic team in 2012, they sorted it out, and she did splendidly.
After her 2018 retirement, she returned to compete at the Chinese National Championships.
Later in April 2022, she retired again, opting to parkour.
- Dipa Karmakar
At number four on the list, we have Dipa Karmakar, an Indian artistic gymnast.
Dipa won a bronze medal at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, becoming the first Indian female gymnast to do so in history.
Born on August 9, 1993, in Agaetala, India, she has earned a name for herself as one of the best Indian gymnasts ever.
Dipa has received many awards from her country, including Padma Shri’s fourth most prestigious and highest civilian award in India.
Also, her participation in the Summer Olympics made her the first Indian woman to do so in 57 years.
Shockingly, in confirmation from the International Testing Agency in February 2023, it was revealed that Karmakar was serving a 21-month suspension after testing positive for a banned substance and that the suspension would end in mid-July 2023.
- Sam Mikulak
Samuel Anthony Mikulak is a former American artistic gymnast at No. three on our list of best gymnasts in the world.
He was awarded the Longines Prize for Elegance (2019) for exceptional skills.
Additionally, Sam is a six-time U.S. national all-around champion from 2013-2016 and from 2018-2019.
Mikulak is also an eight-time NCAA champion. He won the team, all-around, and several individual event titles at 2011, 2013, and 2014 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships.
He made quite a story on social media for winning five gold medals in the Pacific Rim Championships.
Sam Mikulak, in 2021, was honored with the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame Excellence in Troy, Michigan.
- Kohei Uchimura
Kōhei Uchimura, aka “Superman,” is the second on our list of the best gymnasts globally, a former Japanese artistic gymnast known for his all-around, team, and floor exercise.
A seven-time Olympic medalist, including all-around, team, and floor exercises securing him three golds and four silvers, claims it’s all practice and hard work.
Born on January 3, 1989, he won twenty-one medals in World Championships, including all-around, team, floor exercise, horizontal bar, and parallel bars.
Uchimura is the first gymnast to win every major all-around title in an Olympic cycle.
Kohei has been praised as a “combination of tremendous difficulty, supreme consistency, and extraordinary elegance of performance” by The International Gymnast Magazine.
Uchimura has 15 gold, 11 silver, and six bronze for his international medals.
He formally retired from the gymnastics world on January 10, 2022.
- Simone Biles
Ato pour list is Simone Arianne Biles, one of the most decorated American artistic gymnasts.
She was named Team USA Female Olympic Athlete of the Year in December 2015, making her the fourth gymnast to win that honor.
Born on March 14, 1997, Biles is widely considered one of the greatest and most dominant female gymnasts of all time.
Simone is a three-time World balance beam champion (2014-2015, 2019), two-time world vault champion (2018-19), and also a seven-time United States national all-around champion (2013-2016, 2018-19, 2021).
Biles was young to make it into the 2012 Olympic Team in London at only 15.
After her engagement announcement to Jonathan Owens, an American football safety for the Houston Texans, in February 2022, Simone Biles threw an epic bachelorette party before the wedding on Feb. 24, 2023.
