Frederick “Fred” Richard shined in Paris as Team USA made history on Monday. With Richard leading the way, the U.S. earned the first team medal in men’s gymnastics for the first time in 16 years. Richard showed off his skills on the rings, parallel bars, horizontal bar and floor exercise to propel Team USA to a bronze medal.
Team USA finished behind Japan and China, according to WCVB. Japan scored 259.594 to take gold while China totaled 259.062 points. Team USA finished with a score of 257.793.
Richard scored 14.466 on the floor exercise, 14.566 at parallel bars and 14.833 on the horizontal bar, CBS News reported. The 20-year-old’s scores were the top marks on the team. Stephen Nedoroscik contributed to the team with a strong performance on the pommel horse, while Paul Juda and Asher Hong came up big on the vault, USA TODAY reported.
Richard, a Massachusetts native, led Team USA to Monday’s final after he earned the highest score on the team in the qualifications on Saturday, Boston.com reported. The rising star is now preparing to compete in the all-around final on Wednesday.
Richard, who is competing in his first Olympics, is already well-accomplished. He earned the Junior Pan American Championship in 2021 and 2022, per Boston.com. As Blavity reported, Richard had another big win at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships when he took bronze in the all-around competition. He also finished first at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
Needless to say, it’s only the beginning for Richard.
“I want to say that the world knows Frederick Richard’s name and that he’s going to keep getting stronger and stronger, and in 2028 he’ll probably be the greatest gymnast in the world,” Richard told the Boston Globe.
Richard adds that his goal goes beyond the accolades: “I’ve grown up my whole life wishing there were some Black gymnasts dominating the sport on the men’s side that I can look up to, wishing that the sport was 20 times bigger. Now I have an opportunity to contribute to that and make that happen. So I just view it as an opportunity now, every day is an opportunity to compete to make the sport bigger to make my dreams happen.”
