Gymnastics is a popular sport worldwide and audiences love tuning in to watch gymnasts perform at the summer Olympic Games. That event is where the sport gets the most focused coverage and attention. But did you know that there is an offshoot of gymnastics that is less well known and just as beautiful, technical, and inspiring? It is called wheel gymnastics and dancers perform on, in, and all around a large wheel.
The double hooped wheel is specially designed for the sport and is known as the Rhönrad, which was named after the German mountain region where it was invented in 1925. The sport has three main categories of exercise; straight line, spiral, and vault. Gymnasts balance and spin along the wheel while doing flips and other neat tricks. You have to see it to truly understand how beautiful it is.
The athlete featured in this video is Jenny Hoffman, a dancer from Augsberg, Germany. She is a first class wheel gymnast and is shown performing at the 2011 World Championship of Wheel Gymnastics. The video gives a clear look at how much concentration, dedication and practice it takes to master the large wheel. Jenny seems to float around the floor and looks as if she were a part of it. She is at the top of her game and delivers a beautiful, seemingly flawless, routine.
What stands out most, from the video and in general, is how fun the wheel looks. Just to be able to roll around and play with it would be a good time and a novel new way to exercise. Although, Jenny makes it look so easy, so I wonder if doing even basic things on it is. Check it out!
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