The men’s artistic gymnastics apparatus with two wooden rails set parallel to each other is the parallel bars.
The apparatus consists of two elevated, adjustable rails supported by a metal framework. Modern rails are commonly made from ash reinforced with fiberglass, while the surface remains wood or a similar material. Typical dimensions are about 350 centimetres long, 200 centimetres above the floor and 42–52 centimetres apart.
A parallel-bars routine combines swings, handstands, turns, support skills and somersaulting elements performed between or above the rails. Gymnasts finish with a dismount from the end or side. Unlike the still rings, the bars provide a fixed support; unlike the horizontal bar, they use two rails rather than one.
The apparatus has nineteenth-century German roots. Friedrich Ludwig Jahn is widely credited with creating an early version in 1811, inspired by the handles of a vaulting horse. Adjustable and more resilient designs developed over time, including fiberglass improvements introduced in the twentieth century.