Parkour and gymnastics seem to be similar sports, since they both involve flexibility, strength, and lots of practice. However, the two have many core differences. Gymnastics was officially a sport in 1862 . Following the establishment, the sport has grown in popularity; in 2012, participation for gymnastics in the U.S peaked, with 5.4 million Americans involved. The sport requires a lot of practice as well as training to become elite. Gymnastics is very physically demanding as long hours are required; retired Olympic athlete, Jordyn Wieber, practiced for 30 hours a week. Parkour is the action of moving along a route, typically in a city, trying to get around or through various obstacles in the quickest and most efficient manner possible, as by jumping, climbing, or running, according to dictionary.com. Although dictionary.com defines parkour as a sport, some students at Wilcox do not consider it one. Ninth grader, Erin Nguyen is particularly bitter towards parkour saying, “Gymnastics is televised, while I never watched parkour on basic channels. It’s not a sport.”
Modern gymnastics was featured in the Olympics for the first time in 1896, for men only, then for women in 1924. Parkour is fairly new, and is not…show more content… One health benefit is the decrease in the risk of certain diseases such as asthma, cancer, obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Also, gymnastics can make young people more self-confident, something that is extremely important for young athletes. A study at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School discovered youth who participate in sports, such as gymnastics, have higher self-esteem and self-efficacy. A student and gymnastics competitor, Laura Wong, remembers her first feeling of confidence on the mat, “The feeling of satisfaction is amazing, the first time I did a front tuck I was incredibly happy, and everyone else watching me celebrated my
