How Wide Is the Balance Beam at the Olympics? Here’s the Rundown

If Olympic-level gymnastics wasn’t impressive enough already, wait until you learn how narrow the balance beam really is. When you watch athletes competing on the beam at the Paris Olympics, know that the platform they’re jumping and flipping on is only 10 centimeters wide (or roughly four inches). For reference, that’s smaller (!!) than an iPhone turned to landscape mode, and only a little wider than the average credit card. Considering we could pull a muscle just taking a selfie, we have a lot of questions. Mostly, who thought this was a good idea? And why isn’t every gymnast who climbs onto a beam awarded a medal?

It isn’t just the width of the beam that makes the routines performed on it so challenging — it’s also the height and length. A traditional wooden balance beam stands at around 16 feet long and four feet tall. While that may seem like plenty of room to complete the acrobatic skills expected of elite gymnasts, it doesn’t allow much space to build speed or momentum before exploding off the beam in a dismount (let alone keep one’s balance).

Take Simone Biles, who made history at the 2019 US Gymnastics Championships, and then again at the World Championships when she did two back handsprings on the beam, followed by a double-twisting double backflip on her way to the ground. These moves are impressive enough on their own, but we have a newfound appreciation knowing they were conducted with only four feet of clearance. Now, the next time you watch the athletes compete (and win!) at the Games, you’ll have a deeper appreciation for their skills . . . and maybe also a bigger fear of the beam.

To stream the 2024 Paris Olympics, you can sign up for a Peacock subscription ($8 per month). The platform will stream every event live and will also offer on-demand options for users to rewatch different competitions from the Games. For the full 2024 Paris Olympics schedule, visit NBCOlympics.com.

Karen Snyder Duke is the editorial operations director at PS. She previously spent 13 years writing and editing health and fitness content for digital and print media brands, including Redbook, Good Housekeeping, and Parents.

Chandler Plante is an assistant editor for PS Health & Fitness. Previously, she worked as an editorial assistant for People magazine and contributed to Ladygunn, Millie, and Bustle Digital Group. In her free time, she overshares on the internet, creating content about chronic illness, beauty, and disability.