Spectators held up the competition for almost 10 minutes, as they forced the judges to change the score of four-time Olympics champion Alexei Nemov.

Said Kim: "The old system took care of well-executed but average exercises by gymnasts, and we kind of forgot about high-level performances as there was a maximum ceiling of scoring 10 points.

"So even if a gymnast had a fantastic routine, they could not score higher than a 10, which is what happened to Nemov.

"Everyone understood that his exercise was much more interesting and risky, but judges did not have the tools to appreciate what he had done.

"It was a signal for us to start doing things differently."

Critics fear the new scoring system could make the sport more dangerous because gymnasts are constantly chasing after higher scores risk injury.

Kim shrugged off the suggestion, saying: "Gymnasts will become more careful as the deductions will be much stricter. If they are smart, they will learn that they would be better off to perform a more normal skill, but to do it perfectly."

American gymnast Alicia Sacramone, who will be going for gold in Beijing, said: "The level of difficulty is higher now but you should be training properly and be well conditioned to do the skills.

"If you aren't ready, you shouldn't be performing them."

While athletes have had two years to get used to the new scoring format, not everyone is in favor of the changes.

Said former Olympic champion Kerri Strug: "I think a lot of people identify gymnastics with a perfect 10. It's much easier for the average person to follow and understand.

"In subjective sports there's never going to be a completely perfect scoring system. It's human nature to have biases towards certain things and you do the best you can but there is nothing that is foolproof."

Sacramone has competed under both codes, and still has reservations about the new system. "I kind of miss the perfect 10," the 20-year-old said. "Now it's a little harder to judge if your routine was flawless or not."