In elite gymnastics, the difficulty score—or D-score—tells us how hard a routine really is. It’s calculated based on:
- The 8 highest-valued elements in WAG (Women’s Artistic Gymnastics) or 10 in MAG (Men’s Artistic Gymnastics)
- Any connection bonuses for linking skills
- Completion of required elements, which vary by event
Each skill is assigned a letter value:
- A = 0.1, B = 0.2, up to J = 1.0, and beyond if new skills are added
Combining skills earns bonus points—typically 0.1 to 0.3—for risky, well-executed links. Most importantly, the D-score has no fixed maximum. It’s open-ended. But aiming too high can hurt execution and increase injury risk, so top routines strike a careful balance between difficulty and control.
Highest Confirmed D-Scores in WAG (Women’s Artistic Gymnastics)
In recent years, WAG gymnasts have taken difficulty to a whole new level. Vault scores are capped and usually top out around 6.4, but bars and floor have grown much more complex thanks to tricky combinations and high-rated skills (E to G level).
Here are the highest officially confirmed D-scores by apparatus:
| Apparatus | Top D-Score | Gymnast & Meet (Year) |
|---|---|---|
| Vault | 6.4 | Simone Biles – Yurchenko double pike (“Biles II”), 2025 Code |
| Uneven Bars | 7.0 | Kaylia Nemour – Doha World Cup 2024 |
| Balance Beam | 6.7 | Simone Biles – U.S. Championships Day 2 (2019) |
| Floor Exercise | 6.9 | Simone Biles – 2023 U.S. Classic (planned routine) |
Source: static.usagym.org, wikipedia.org
🔍 Why Uneven Bars Lead the Pack
Uneven bars stand out for one reason: connection value. Release-to-release combinations can earn up to 0.4 bonus each, and gymnasts like Kaylia Nemour pack in eight E-to-G elements, along with efficient links and clean swing mechanics. This smart construction allows routines to break the 7.0 barrier—a milestone that remains rare on any other apparatus.
This level of difficulty demands top-tier grip strength, timing, and control in the air.
Highest Confirmed D-Scores in MAG (Men’s Artistic Gymnastics)
In MAG, D-scores can climb even higher than in WAG. With 10 elements counted, no dance requirements, and strength-heavy events like rings and pommel horse, men have more room to stack high-value elements.
Here are the highest confirmed D-scores by apparatus:
| Apparatus | Top D-Score | Gymnast & Meet (Year) |
|---|---|---|
| Floor | 7.6 | Kenzo Shirai – 2016–17 World Cup & Japanese Nationals |
| Pommel Horse | 6.9 | Max Whitlock – 2023–24 Worlds & European Championships |
| Still Rings | 6.8 | Eleftherios Petrounias – Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification |
| Vault | 6.0 | Top-line vaults in the 2025–2028 Code (e.g., Yang Hak-Seon) |
| Parallel Bars | 7.0 | Ferhat Arıcan – 2023 World Championships Qualification |
| Horizontal Bar | 6.6 | Kohei Uchimura – 2023 FIG Statistics Bulletin |
Source: nbcolympics.com, gymnastics.sport
🔍 Why Floor Leads the Way
MAG floor is all about acrobatics—no leaps, no choreography.
That’s why gymnasts like Kenzo Shirai could fill their set with twisting saltos rated G through I, plus connection bonuses of +0.7 or more. His quadruple twists and clean landings pushed his D-score to 7.6—still the highest confirmed in MAG history.
Events like rings and parallel bars reward strength and swing combinations, but tend to plateau around the low 7s. On pommel horse, gymnasts like Max Whitlock string together compact, high-difficulty sequences to approach similar numbers.
Why Do MAG D-Scores Tend to Be Higher?
If you’ve compared men’s and women’s scores, you’ve likely noticed that MAG D-scores are often higher. Here’s why:
1. More Skills Count
- MAG: Top 10 elements
- WAG: Top 8 elements
This gives men more room to load up difficult skills and earn connection bonuses.
2. Strength-Based Events
MAG features events like rings and pommel horse, where athletes can perform repeated high-difficulty strength or circle elements in tight sequences.
3. No Dance Requirements
In WAG, especially on floor and beam, gymnasts must include leaps, turns, and artistry—many of which don’t carry high difficulty. MAG focuses purely on acrobatics and strength.
4. Different Composition Priorities
WAG routines often aim for a mix of beauty and difficulty. MAG can prioritize raw difficulty and clean transitions.
Vault: Why Its Top Scores Are Lower Than Bars or Floor
Vault scoring works differently. Unlike beam, floor, or bars—where gymnasts build difficulty through their skill choices—each vault has a fixed D-score, listed in the FIG Vault Table.
Highest Vault D-Scores
- Women (WAG):
- 6.4 for the Yurchenko double pike (Biles II)
- 6.4 for the handspring double front (Produnova)
- Men (MAG):
- 6.0 for vaults in the Ri Se-gwang family (full-twisting double Tsukahara in tuck or pike)
Why Vault Is Capped Lower
You might wonder—if bars and floor can push past 7.0, why does vault seem stuck below that?
Simple: safety.
Vault is fast, powerful, and unforgiving. Landings come hard and fast—there’s no room for error. The FIG deliberately keeps the vault scores conservative, even when the skill is world-class.
They don’t want gymnasts chasing glory with “Hail Mary” landings that could lead to serious injuries—think knee blowouts, back injuries, or worse.
So while vault skills are among the most jaw-dropping in gymnastics, their scores are capped more tightly, not because they’re easy, but because the risks are so high.
Could We See a 7.0 on WAG Beam or Floor—Or an 8.0 on MAG Floor?
On paper? Absolutely. In practice? Not quite yet.
Under the 2025–2028 FIG Code of Points, it’s theoretically possible for:
- A WAG floor or beam routine to reach 7.0+, and
- A MAG floor routine to climb into the 8.0 range
Women’s Artistic Gymnastics (WAG)
A floor routine composed of eight J-valued elements, combined with maximum connection bonuses, could yield a D-score close to 9.0.
Realistically, no gymnast or national federation would approve such a routine—the injury risk is too high. However, a first-ever 7.0+ D-score on beam or floor is plausible within this Olympic cycle if a gymnast carefully layers upgrades.
Men’s Artistic Gymnastics (MAG)
On the men’s side, a floor routine that includes a quintuple-twist (five twists), along with two double-salto passes containing triple twists, could push the D-score toward 8.0.
But here too, the challenge isn’t just landing the skills—it’s surviving the pounding that such routines demand. Physiological limits and high execution deductions remain the barrier between theory and reality.
The Bottom Line
The Code allows it. The body—so far—does not. But as equipment improves, recovery science evolves, and young gymnasts continue to redefine “possible,” we may witness a 7.0 or 8.0 D-score break through.
Not today. But maybe tomorrow.
