RIO DE JANEIRO — They don’t make as much money as their counterparts of the opposite sex. They don’t receive as much TV airtime or media coverage. They don’t attract as many fans to arenas or as many followers on social media.

This sounds like a typical gender inequality story in American sports except for one thing: In gymnastics, the men are less popular than the women.

The chasm has only widened at the Rio Olympics as the U.S. women have dominated and the U.S. men have faltered. Whereas the American women waltzed to victory in the team competition and appear poised to capture two more medals in the all-around Thursday, their male counterparts finished a distant fifth as a team and didn’t sniff the medal stand in Wednesday’s all-around.

“It’s absolutely frustrating that it’s not equal, but I think it’s about winning,” said U.S. Olympian Chris Brooks. “The women have a wonderful track record of producing champions and medals over and over again. Companies want to be involved with champions and medal winners. If we’re going to complain about it, we also have to do better.”

While more success on an Olympic stage would certainly narrow the popularity gap for the American men, sports marketers remain unconvinced it would close altogether. They’re skeptical a gold medal-winning men’s gymnast could ever attract the same caliber sponsorships or endorsements past female champions have.

View photos Chris Brooks competes on the horizontal bar during the men’s individual all-around. (Getty) More

By the morning after the all-around competition at the 2012 Olympics, champion Gabby Douglas had already gained 200,000 Twitter followers and received props from the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj. Douglas would later grace cereal boxes and magazine covers, make the rounds on the talk show circuit and even star in her own reality TV series.

By contrast, American male gymnasts who win Olympic medals seldom become household names. Danell Leyva, the bronze medalist in the 2012 all-around competition, reportedly still lives at home with his mother and stepfather. Jonathan Horton, the top performer on the U.S. bronze-medal-winning team in 2008, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette two years ago that he receives 10 times more recognition for appearing on the show “American Ninja Warrior” than anything related to gymnastics.

“The women’s combination of athleticism, youthfulness and feminism seems to grant them a broader demographic appeal in America,” said Bob Dorfman, executive director of San Francisco-based Baker Street Advertising.

“Women admire and respect them, men love watching them, boys want to date them, young girls want to be them. And with the must-see Olympics attracting a wider audience than any other sporting event outside of the Super Bowl, it easily makes these athletes household names and faces, attracting a wide array of sponsors.”

There are several factors that contributed to American female gymnasts overtaking their male counterparts in popularity during the 1970s.

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The introduction of Title IX in 1972 created more opportunities for female gymnasts at the college level and began the gradual process of cash-strapped athletic departments axing their men’s programs. A new generation of female gymnasts also began appearing about that same time, younger and more petite than their predecessors.

When 14-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci won three gold medals in 1976 and became the first female to score a perfect 10, she quickly became the darling of that Olympics. Young girls identified with Comaneci’s small stature, vibrant personality and remarkable athleticism. Parents began enrolling toddlers in tumbling classes and more gymnastics clubs began popping up nationwide to satisfy the growing demand.

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