Who is the best gymnast in the world? A ranked top 10 list

Who is the best gymnast in the world? A ranked top 10 list

Lenah Ann
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:22 PM

Gymnastics is considered one of the most strenuous sports, and athletes participating in it are highly talented. Athletes must be extremely flexible and coordinated and also be able to perform challenging skills with precision to be ranked among the best gymnasts in the world.

Top 10 best gymnast in the world as of 2023
Breyana Daniels of Fisk competes on the balance beam during a meet at the Orleans Arena on 6 January 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo: Stew Milne
Source: Getty Images

Globally, the sport has much bigger female participation, and women get more coverage, so, naturally, most of the legends over the years are women. Here is the list of the best among them all.

Top 10 best gymnasts in the world as of 2023

The sport consists of several physical exercises that verify eligibility, balance and strength that make a gymnast the best. According to various online sources, here are the best gymnasts in the world as of 2023.

10. Gabby Douglas - Best in the United states of America

Gabby Douglas is an American artistic athlete who won the 2012 Olympic all-around championship and the 2015 World all-around silver medalist. She is considered one of the best gymnasts in the world right now after gaining fame in 2012.

Best gymnast in the world ever
Gymnast Gabby Douglas attends the Women's Sports Foundation's 38th Annual Salute To Women in Sports Awards Gala on 18 October 2017 in New York City. Photo: Nicholas Hunt
Source: Getty Images

She was the first African-American to become the Olympic individual all-around champion. Additionally, she was the first American to win gold in individual all-around and team competitions at the same Olympics. She was also the 2016 AT&T American Cup overall champion.

Full name

Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas

Date of birth

31 December 1995

Age

27 years of age as of 2023

Nationality

American

Height

5 feet 2 inches or 157 centimetres

Weight

108 pounds or 49 kilograms

9. Manrique Larduet - Best in Cuba

Manrique Larduet Bicet is a former Cuban artistic gymnast famous for his history-making silver at the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. He also competed at the Pan American Games.

Best gymnast in the world today
Manrique Larduet competes on the parallel bars during the individual apparatus finals of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships on 8 October 2017 in Montreal, Canada. Photo: Minas Panagiotakis
Source: Getty Images

In Rio, Manrique became the first Cuban since 2004 to appear as an Olympian. He qualified for Rio with a bronze medal on the high bar that was taking place at the most recent World Championships.

At 26, he has a chance to be the most successful Cuban athlete ever who will always be a threat to finish on the podium for both all-around and high bar. At such a young age, he has proven to be a title contender among other world-class gymnasts.

Full name

Manrique Larduet Bicet

Date of birth

10 July 1996

Age

26 years of age as of 2023

Nationality

Cuban

Height

5 feet 3 inches or 160 centimetres

Weight

139 pounds or 63 kilograms

8. Danell Leyva - Best in the United States of America

Best gymnast in the world right now
Danell Leyva performs at the 2016 Kellogg's tour of gymnastics champions at Staples Center on 24 September 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Joe Scarnici
Source: Getty Images

Danell Leyva is a Cuban-American former artistic athlete who competed for the United States and won the 2012 Olympic individual all-around bronze, the 2016 Olympic parallel bars, and horizontal bar silver medals. He is among the best gymnasts in the world today.

The former athlete was a specialist on parallel and horizontal bars, having his signature move, jam-dislocate-hop, to under grips on the latter. During the London competition that was rather disappointing for the men’s team, Leyva was the sole optimist and earned a bronze medal in the all-around.

Internationally, he ended up at position 17 at the 2016 World Championships, but he is still one of the best performers on parallel and high bars.

Full name

Danell Johan Leyva

Date of birth

30 October 1991

Age

31 years of age as of 2023

Nationality

Cuban-American

Height

5 feet 7 inches or 170 centimetres

Weight

160 pounds or 72 kilograms

7. Oksana Chusovitina - Best in Uzbekistan

Best male gymnast in the world
Oksana Chusovitina of Team Uzbekistan competes on vault during Women's Qualification on day two of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at on 25 July 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Laurence Griffiths
Source: Getty Images

Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina is an eight-time Olympic gymnast who has competed for the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan, and Germany. Her career has spanned more than a quarter century.

At 47 years old, Oksana Chusovitina is the most senior female athlete to qualify for the Olympic Games. She recently won the silver medal at the 2018 Asian Games held in Jakarta.

In Rio, she competed for Uzbekistan, the country she represented in two separate stints from 1993 to 2006 and from 2013 to the current cycle. She is still a threat to the medal on the vault, although she has yet to achieve an Olympic medal since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Full name

Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina

Date of birth

19 June 1975

Age

47 years of age as of 2023

Nationality

Russian

Height

5 feet or 153 centimetres

Weight

97 pounds or 44 kilograms

6. Donnell Whittenburg - Best in the United States of America

Best gymnast in the world right now
Donnell Whittenburg of the USA competes during the World Gymnastics Championships at M&S Bank Arena on 31 October 2022 in Liverpool, England. Photo: James Gill - Danehouse
Source: Getty Images

Donnell Whittenburg is an American artistic athlete whose most essential events are rings, vault, and floor. Lately, there’s been no faster rise toward fame for a male gymnast in America than that of Donnell Whittenburg.

He had his most successful year in 2017, winning silver medals in the FIG World Cup and FIG World Challenge Cup that year.

Full name

Donnell Whittenburg

Date of birth

18 August 1994

Age

28 years of age as of 2023

Nationality

American

Height

5 feet 4 inches or 163 centimetres

Weight

163 pounds or 74 kilograms

5. Shang Chunsong - Best female in China

Best male gymnast in the world
Chunsong Shang of China competes in the Women's Uneven Bars Final on Day 9 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Rio Olympic Arena on 14 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: Alex Livesey
Source: Getty Images

Shang Chunsong is a senior elite Chinese artistic gymnast who represented China at 2013, 2014, and 2015 World Championships. She captained the bronze-medal winning team at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she ranked 4th in the individual all-around competition.

Additionally, she is the 2015 and 2016 Chinese national all-around champion. Currently, she is the only gymnast who can challenge the US women playing in the overall games.

Full name

Shang Chunsong

Date of birth

18 March 1996

Age

26 years of age as of 2013

Nationality

Chinese

Height

4 feet 8 inches or 142 centimetres.

Weight

75 pounds or 34 kilograms

4. Dipa Karmakar - Best in Indian

The best at gymnastics in the world
Dipa Karmakar of India competes in the Women's Vault Final on Day 9 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Rio Olympic Arena on 14 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: Alex Livesey
Source: Getty Images

Dipa Karmakar is an Indian-based athlete from Tripura State. She went viral after becoming the first Indian gymnast to ever qualify for the Olympics. In the 2016 Summer Olympics final, she reached 4th position.

The renowned athlete represented India in the Olympics and is regarded as one of the best gymnasts in the world. It is believed that she is the reason behind why the sport is one of the most popular in India today, thus making her the best gymnast in India.

Full name

Dipa Karmakar

Date of birth

9 August 1993

Age

29 years of age as of 2023

Nationality

Indian

Height

4 feet 11 inches or 150 centimetres

Weight

104 pounds or 47 kilograms

3. Sam Mikulak - Best in the United States of America

Best male gymnast in the world
Samuel Mikulak competes during the Men's Parallel Bars Final on day eleven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on 3 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Jamie Squire
Source: Getty Images

Samuel Anthony Mikulak is a retired American artistic athlete, a six-time US national all-around champion, three-time Olympian, and the 2018 World bronze medalist.

Samuel is one of the best in the world as of 2023. He was on the 2012 men’s team in London and progressed into one of the best gymnasts in the country following his Olympic experience.

Mikulak has earned four straight US championships making him the first male since Blaine Wilson to win five straight from 1996 to 2000.

Full name

Samuel Anthony Mikulak

Date of birth

13 October 1992

Age

30 years of age as of 2023

Nationality

American

Height

5 feet 6 inches or 167 centimetres

Weight

141 pounds or 64 kilograms

2. Kohei Uchimura - Best in the world

Kohei Uchimura is a retired Japanese artistic gymnast and a seven-time Olympic medallist. He won three golds and four silvers and was a twenty-one-time World medallist. He is fighting a solid case to be considered the best gymnast of all time.

The best at gymnastics in the world
Kohei Uchimura performs during his retirement event at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on 12 March 2022 in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: The Asahi Shimbun
Source: Getty Images

Uchimura won nine consecutive national titles in Japan, and he was a six-time World all-around champion in the rest of the world. He achieved two gold medals during the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The renowned gymnast also won the all-around in the 2012 Olympics in London after finishing with silver in 2008 behind China’s Yang Wei.

Full name

Kohei Uchimura

Date of birth

3 January 1989

Age

34 years of age as of 2023

Nationality

Japanese

Height

162 centimetres

Weight

55 kilograms

Who is the best gymnast in the world as of 2023?

Well, while the list details some of the best gymnasts in the world, there must be a guru among them, and the 25-year-old American artistic athlete, Simone Biles, takes the lead. She has become a sought-after personality in the world of gymnastics to the point that her name often pops up whenever the sport is mentioned.

1. Simone Biles - Best of all-time

Simone Arianne Biles is an American artistic gymnast. She is the best gymnast in the world as of 2023 and the first-ever American gymnast to win Olympic medals seven times.

She proved to be the best gymnast in the world at the Rio Olympics. Additionally, Biles has won three straight US Championships and is the first female gymnast to win three consecutive World Championships.

Best gymnast in the world today
Simone Biles participates in pregame activity before the Houston Texans play the Los Angeles Chargers at NRG Stadium on 2 October 2022 in Houston, Texas. Photo: Bob Levey
Source: Getty Images

Her 25 total medals in the World competition make her the best American gymnast. She was named the Team USA Female Olympic Athlete of the Year in December 2015, smacking her the fourth gymnast to win that honour.

Full name

Simone Arianne Biles

Date of Birth

14 March 1997

Age

25 years of age as of 2023

Nationality

American

Height

4 feet 8 inches or 142 centimetres

Weight:

104 pounds or 47 kilograms

Gymnastics is considered one of the most strenuous sports in the world, and a gymnast is termed the best. They ought to adhere to any rules, challenges, or whatever comes their way. Consequently, most of them are ranked among the best gymnasts in the world.

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Authors
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Lenah Ann
Lenah Ann is a Kenyan-based content creator with 2 years of experience. She graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Mass Media and Communication from Dedan Kimathi, Kenya in 2021.