People Can’t Believe Gymnastics Is Same Sport After Watching Footage 70 Years Apart

The difference between the two competitions and level of movement is astonishing. While the earlier clip appeared to focus on slow, controlled movements, the video on the right shows the participant doing flips and jumps.

Reddit users were shocked at the differences between the two competitions.

When one person said the bouncy floors are helpful in jumps and flips, one wrote: "Tbh man they really aren't as bouncy as you might think. I worked at a gymnastics gym one summer as a teenager, and they may give you a tiny spring in your step but really not much.

"They are more for when people eat s*** so they don't hit a hard floor, but still stiff enough to have all the pressure that's applied from the gymnast."

Another agreed, saying: "The springs are mainly for injury prevention in that they protect the joints of the gymnasts from the effects of continuous pounding. If done correctly after much training the spring provides a significant bounce as demonstrated by the top gymnasts today."

While another was more impressed with the original, saying: "Towards the end of the black and white I find it pretty impressive. To slowly do those head back flips and s*** are pretty insane, it's one thing if you build up some momentum but he does it so slowly and controlled."

But when someone else pointed out the Olympics used to be strictly for amateurs, another wrote: "Yeah, that's part of what makes this a bit silly. Amateur really meant amateur in those days. Not that there has not been improvement, but we're not really comparing the same thing."

The website reads: "Pierre de Coubertin was greatly influenced by the aristocratic ethos behind the English public school system that saw sport as a fundamental part of an all-round education.

"As part of this philosophy, young gentlemen were not expected to be specialists in one activity, but to be an all-rounder.

"Fairness was also an overriding principle with training almost considered to be cheating. Those who played or practiced a sport professionally were considered to have an unfair advantage over their amateur counterparts."

It wasn't until 1988 that the IOC voted to let all athletes compete in the Olympics, leaving it to the individual sport federations to decide if they wanted to allow professionals.