Parkour
Parkour was developed by Raymond Belle, David Belle and Sebastien Foucan in France in the late 1980’s. Parkour is a form of physical training aimed to overcome both physical and mental obstacles. It developed from the movement being used in military obstacle course training. Parkour involves skillful gymnastics type movements over, under and through city buildings.
Parkour involves skillful gymnastics type movements over, under and through city buildingsExperts in this activity are called Traceurs, and to see them in action is poetry in motion. They aim to move from one point to another as smoothly, efficiently and quickly as possible. Parkour's unofficial motto is être et durer (to be and to last), partly relating to the aim to avoid injury as you jump from building to building and fall from a height.
Parkour can be practiced either individually or with others. Most of the time, Parkour is carried out at an urban space. Its main aim is to see the same environment in a new way. It does not need any equipment, but in order to train new moves, a mat or spring flooring can be a safe option.
A light garment is usually worn on the upper body with a T-shirt. Sweatpants are used on the lower body.
There are no specific rules in Parkour obstacles. Safety is the only concern while maintaining flow is required. Maintaining flow helps in real life to overcome all the obstacles. Flow is the continuous movement from one obstacle to the other obstacle. As per Parkour trainer, Dan Dinu, defines Parkour in reality as a continuous movement rather than individual moves themselves.
Parkour is not really a sport, so maybe should not be included in this list of sports. It has much in common with many sports, as it requires a very high level of athleticism to participate in Parkour, though competition is against its philosophy.
Freerunning is a version of Parkour that adds acrobatic moves that are purely aesthetic.
Parkour at the World Games
In Parkour, athletes aim to get from start to finish in the most efficient way possible without assistive equipment. Athletes must use a wide range of athletic and acrobatic techniques to overcome obstacles. In the Speed event, athletes must overcome get through obstacles as quickly as possible. In the Freestyle event, athletes use obstacles to show off their style and creativity to the judges.
Parkour is one of the disciplines under Gymnastics at the World Games. It made its debut at the 2022 Birmingham World Games and was also one of the major Gymnastics disciplines at the 2025 Chengdu World Games.
Here are the medalists who won gold at the 2025 Chengdu Parkour event:
| Event | Medal | Name | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women's Freestyle | Gold | SHANG Chunsong | China |
| Men's Freestyle | Gold | SHIOHATA Mutsuhiro | Japan |
| Women's Speed | Gold | TIBBLING Miranda | Sweden |
| Men's Speed | Gold | CORDT-MOELLER Caryl | Switzerland |
Similar Sports
- Freerunning — a version of parkour that adds acrobatic moves that are purely aesthetic, also known as tricking.
- Chase Tag — a chaser has 20 seconds to tag an evader as they race around an obstacle course.
- Obstacle Course Racing — an event requiring an athlete to run through a variety of different obstacles.
Related Pages
- Parkour at the Olympics?
- Canine Parkour: Agility Training for Dogs and Owners
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports — a list of every sport from around the world.
- What is a sport?
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