On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the International Federation of Gymnastics which was founded in 1881, a commemorative competition was held in Paris, on July 11 & 12, in conjunction with that year's Bastille Day. Although it has at times been referred to as the "First Artistic Men's World Championships",[1] its results often seem to be ignored by various authorities in the sport.
There was a special clause to the rules that in order for any individual to be properly termed 'World Champion', they had to demonstrate a certain level of competency among all 14 events, scoring at least 60% of all of the points that could be possibly awarded on each event. Therefore, the highest-ranking gymnast, Heikki Savolainen of Finland did not actually end up becoming World Champion; rather, 2nd-place finishing Alois Hudec of Czechoslovakia, who was the only individual to score at least 60% on all 14 events, ended up becoming 'World Champion' at this competition.[5]
^"Sa međunarodnih gimnastičkih takmičenja u Parizu" [From International Gymnastics Competitions in Paris.]. Sokolsky Glasnik (in Slovenian). Vol. 2, no. 29. July 16, 1931. p. 1. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
^"Po Vitezstvi Druzstev Vitezstvi Jednotlivcu" [After the victory of the cooperatives, the victory of the individual.]. Věstník Sokolský. Vol. 33, no. 30. July 23, 1931. pp. 513–514. Retrieved January 24, 2021.