Editing Vault (gymnastics) (section)

== The apparatus ==
[[File:Nederlandse kampioenschap turnen dames in Leiden, Bep Ipenburg tijdens paardoefening, Bestanddeelnr 910-8764.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Original vaulting horse configuration (women)]]
[[File:Jaarlijkse turnwedstrijden Steenwedstrijden in de Amsterdamse turnhal, winnaar, Bestanddeelnr 910-8900.jpg|thumb|Original vaulting horse configuration (men)]]
German [[Friedrich Ludwig Jahn]] popularized the vault's early forms. The apparatus itself originated as a "horse", much like the [[pommel horse]] but without the handles; it was sometimes known as the vaulting horse. The horse was set up with its long dimension perpendicular to the run for women, and parallel for men.<ref name="slate">[http://www.slate.com/id/2105452/ What's With That Weird New Vault?], an August 2004 "Explainer" article from ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]''</ref> The vaulting horse was the apparatus used in the Olympics for over a century, beginning with the [[Gymnastics at the 1896 Summer Olympics – Men's vault|Men's vault in the first modern Olympics]] and ending with the Gymnastics at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Following an accident in 1988 and compounded by incidents in 1998 and 2000, [[Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique|International Gymnastics Federation (FIG)]] re-evaluated and changed the apparatus, citing both safety reasons and the desire to facilitate more impressive acrobatics.<ref name="slate"/>  The [[2001 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships]] were the first international competition to make use of the "vaulting table", an apparatus made by Dutch gymnastics equipment company [[Janssen-Fritsen]] since the mid-1990s. It features a flat, larger, and more cushioned surface almost parallel to the floor, which slopes downward at the end closest to the [[springboard (gymnastics)|springboard]]; gymnasts nicknamed it the "tongue";<ref name="slate"/> it appears to be somewhat safer than the old apparatus.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vault: Everything You Need to know about Vault |url= http://gymnastics.about.com/od/gymnasticsapparatus/p/watchingvault.htm |access-date=2009-10-04}}</ref>

=== Dimensions ===
[[File:Vault-YOGArtisticGymnastics-BishanSportsHall-Singapore-20100816-03.jpg|thumb|Modern vaulting table]]
*Length: {{convert|120|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} ± {{convert|1|cm|in|abbr=on}}<ref name=magd>{{cite web |title=Apparatus Norms |url=http://figdocs.lx2.sportcentric.com/external/serve.php?document=1540 |publisher=[[Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique|FIG]] |page=II/21 |format=PDF |access-date=2009-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111219195725/http://figdocs.lx2.sportcentric.com/external/serve.php?document=1540 |archive-date=2011-12-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=wagd>{{cite web |title=Apparatus Norms |url=http://figdocs.lx2.sportcentric.com/external/serve.php?document=1540 |publisher=[[Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique|FIG]] |page=II/43 |format=PDF |access-date=2009-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111219195725/http://figdocs.lx2.sportcentric.com/external/serve.php?document=1540 |archive-date=2011-12-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*Width: {{convert|90|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} ± {{convert|1|cm|in|abbr=on}}<ref name=magd /><ref name=wagd />
*Height:
**Men: {{convert|135|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} ± {{convert|1|cm|in|abbr=on}}<ref name=wagd />
**Women: {{convert|125|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} ± {{convert|1|cm|in|abbr=on}}<ref name=wagd />
*Run-up area:
**Length: {{convert|3500|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} ± {{convert|10|cm|in|abbr=on}}<ref name=magd /><ref name=wagd />
**Width: {{convert|100|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} ± {{convert|1|cm|in|abbr=on}}<ref name=magd /><ref name=wagd />