Sixty-two gymnasts competed in the compulsory and optional rounds on July 21 and 23. The thirty-six highest scoring gymnasts advanced to the final on July 24. Each country was limited to three competitors in the final. Half of the points earned by each gymnast during both the compulsory and optional rounds carried over to the final. This constitutes each gymnast's "prelim" score.
(When Nadia Comaneci performed on the beam, her final piece of apparatus, the judges took half an hour to judge her score).