The men's parallel bars competition was an inaugural event at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. It has been held in every year since its inception.

The first event was in 1903, and followed every other year until and including 1913. Competitions were not held during World War I, ultimately returning in 1922, and was then held every fourth year, until and including 1942. Competitions resumed after World War II, starting in 1950. It continued every fourth even year until and including 1978. The next event was held a year later, when the schedule was switched to an every-odd year until and including 1991. It then became an annual event, until and including 1997. It was next held in 1999. During the 21st century, the World Championships became an annual event held each non-Summer Olympic year.

Three medals are awarded: gold for first place, silver for second place, and bronze for third place. Tie breakers have not been used in every year. In the event of a tie between two gymnasts, both names are listed, and the following position (second for a tie for first, third for a tie for second) is left empty because a medal was not awarded for that position.

Medalists

Bold numbers in brackets denotes record number of victories.

Year Location Gold Silver Bronze 1903 Antwerp François Hentges Joseph Martinez André Bordang Eugène Dua 1905 Bordeaux Marcel Lalu Joseph Martinez Pierre Payssé 1907 Prague Joseph Lux Josef Čada František Erben Louis Ségura 1909 Luxembourg Joseph Martinez Josef Čada Auguste Castille Marco Torrès 1911 Turin Giorgio Zampori Dominique Follacci Antoine Costa Jules Labéeu Jules Lecoutre Paolo Salvi Ferdinand Steiner Stane Vidmar 1913 Paris Guido Boni Giorgio Zampori Pierre Hentges1915–1917 Not held due to World War I 1922 Ljubljana Leon Štukelj Stane Derganc Stanislav Indruch Miroslav Klinger Vladimir Simončič Stane Vidmar 1926 Lyon Ladislav Vácha Jan Gajdoš Leon Štukelj 1930 Luxembourg Josip Primožič Alfred Krauss Ladislav Vácha 1934 Budapest Eugen Mack Josef Walter Walter Bach 1938 Prague Michael Reusch Alois Hudec Josip Primožič 1942 Not held due to World War II 1950 Basel Hans Eugster Olavi Rove Raymond Dot 1954 Rome Viktor Chukarin Josef Stalder Helmut Bantz Hans Eugster Masao Takemoto 1958 Moscow Boris Shakhlin Takashi Ono Pavel Stolbov 1962 Prague Miroslav Cerar Boris Shakhlin Yukio Endō 1966 Dortmund Sergey Diomidov Mikhail Voronin Miroslav Cerar 1970 Ljubljana Akinori Nakayama Eizō Kenmotsu Mikhail Voronin 1974 Varna Eizō Kenmotsu Nikolai Andrianov Vladimir Marchenko 1978 Strasbourg Eizō Kenmotsu Nikolai Andrianov Hiroshi Kajiyama 1979 Fort Worth Bart Conner Kurt Thomas Aleksandr Tkachyov 1981 Moscow Alexander Dityatin Kōji Gushiken Nobuyuki Kajitani 1983 Budapest Vladimir Artemov Lou Yun Kōji Sotomura Tong Fei 1985 Montreal Sylvio Kroll Valentin Mogilny Kōji Gushiken 1987 Rotterdam Vladimir Artemov Dmitry Bilozerchev Sven Tippelt 1989 Stuttgart Vladimir Artemov Li Jing Andreas Wecker 1991 Indianapolis Li Jing Ihor Korobchynskyi Guo Linyao 1992 Paris Li Jing Aleksey Voropayev Valery Belenky 1993 Birmingham Vitaly Scherbo Ihor Korobchynskyi Valery Belenky (UNA) 1994 Brisbane Huang Liping Rustam Sharipov Alexei Nemov 1995 Sabae Vitaly Scherbo Huang Liping Hikaru Tanaka 1996 San Juan Rustam Sharipov Alexei Nemov Vitaly Scherbo 1997 Lausanne Zhang Jinjing Li Xiaopeng Naoya Tsukahara 1999 Tianjin Lee Joo-hyung Alexei Bondarenko Naoya Tsukahara 2001 Ghent Sean Townsend Erick López Ivan Ivankov 2002 Debrecen Li Xiaopeng Mitja Petkovšek Alexei Sinkevich 2003 Anaheim Li Xiaopeng Huang Xu Alexei Nemov 2005 Melbourne Mitja Petkovšek Li Xiaopeng Yann Cucherat 2006 Aarhus Yang Wei Hiroyuki Tomita Yoo Won-chul 2007 Stuttgart Kim Dae-eun Mitja Petkovšek Anton Fokin 2009 London Wang Guanyin Feng Zhe Kazuhito Tanaka 2010 Rotterdam Feng Zhe Teng Haibin Kōhei Uchimura 2011 Tokyo Danell Leyva Vasileios Tsolakidis Zhang Chenglong 2013 Antwerp Lin Chaopan Kōhei Uchimura John Orozco 2014 Nanning Oleg Verniaiev Danell Leyva Ryōhei Katō 2015 Glasgow You Hao Oleg Verniaiev Deng Shudi Oleg Stepko 2017 Montreal Zou Jingyuan Oleg Verniaiev David Belyavskiy 2018 Doha Zou Jingyuan Oleg Verniaiev Artur Dalaloyan 2019 Stuttgart Joe Fraser Ahmet Önder Kazuma Kaya 2021 Kitakyushu Hu Xuwei Carlos Yulo Shi Cong 2022 Liverpool Zou Jingyuan Lukas Dauser Carlos Yulo 2023 Antwerp Lukas Dauser Shi Cong Kaito Sugimoto 2025 Jakarta Zou Jingyuan (4) Tomoharu Tsunogai Daniel Marinov

All-time medal count Last updated after the 2025 World Championships.

Notes Official FIG documents credit medals earned by athletes from Bohemia as medals for Czechoslovakia. Official FIG documents credit medals earned by athletes from Austria-Hungary as medals for Yugoslavia. Official FIG documents credit medals earned by athletes from former Soviet Union at the 1992 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Paris, France, as medals for CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). At the 1993 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Birmingham, Great Britain, Azerbaijani-born athlete Valery Belenky earned a bronze medal competing as an unattached athlete (UNA) because Azerbaijan did not have a gymnastics federation for him to compete. Later, official FIG documents credit his medal as a medal for Germany.

Multiple medalists Rank Gymnast Nation YearsGoldSilverBronze Total 1 Zou Jingyuan 2017–2025 4 0 0 4 2 1983–1989 3 0 0 3 Li Jing 1989–1992 3 0 0 3 1903–1909 3 0 0 3 5 Li Xiaopeng 1997–2005 2 2 0 4 6 1970–1978 2 1 0 3 2002–2007 2 1 0 3 1993–1996 2 1 0 3 9 1911–1913 2 0 0 2 10 2014–2018 1 3 0 4 11 2022–2023 1 1 0 2 Feng Zhe 2009–2010 1 1 0 2 Huang Liping 1994–1995 1 1 0 2 2011–2014 1 1 0 2 1958–1962 1 1 0 2 1994–1996 1 1 0 2 17 1962–1966 1 0 1 2 1950–1954 1 0 1 2 1981–1985 1 0 1 2 1930–1938 1 0 1 2 1922–1926 1 0 1 2 2010–2013 1 0 1 2 1926–1930 1 0 1 2 24 1994–2003 0 2 1 3 25 1974–1978 0 2 0 2 1907–1909 0 2 0 2 1991–1993 0 2 0 2 1966–1970 0 2 0 2 29 Shi Cong 2021–2023 0 1 1 2 1997–1999 0 1 1 2 1911–1922 0 1 1 2 2021–2022 0 1 1 2 33 Unattached athlete 1992–1993 0 0 2 2

References