If you’re planning on watching the Olympic Games over the next couple of weeks, the chances are that at some point you’re going to find yourself watching a sport you know very little about.
It’s not just the rules that can be confusing if you’re a complete newcomer, it’s also the language - and how can you understand one without the other?
You may have already been baffled by a commentator casually referencing a ‘Gam-jeom’ during the taekwondo, or a ‘salto’ during the artistic gymnastics.
With that in mind, we are here to help. Here are a few pieces of jargon defined and broken down to help you get to grips with what the commentators are saying.
Olympic lingo explained
All-around: A category of gymnastics in which the athletes rotate around the apparatus. The winner is determined by adding up the scores from all events combined.
Amanar: Another gymnastics term used in the vault - in which the athlete does two and a half twists in a backwards rotation.
Dismount: When a gymnast leaves the apparatus at the end of a routine. Usually done with a twist or a salto.
Dressage: A type of equestrian event in which riders, either individually or as part of a team, perform a series of rehearsed moves with the horse, usually to music.
Gallop: An asymmetrical swim stoke that allows the swimmer to breathe to one side, rather than a combination of both.
Gam-jeom: The term used for committing an offence in taekwondo - such as throwing your opponent or stepping out of bounds - which leads to a point being deducted.
Keirin: The cycling race that starts off with riders following a electric bike (called a derny) around the track. The derny slowly brings up the speed before releasing the cyclists to sprint for the line over the final two and a half laps.
Pirouette: Used in gymnastics, when the athlete changes position when in a handstand.
Salto: A flip, or somersault, in which the gymnast rotates around the axis of their waist.
‘Stuck’ landing: The term used in gymnastics when the athlete executes a landing with no movement of the feet.
Twist: The opposite of the salto, so to speak, in which the gymnasts rotates around their vertical axis.
Velodrome: The arena where the track cycling takes place. The track is a round oval featuring steep banks.
