Frederick Nathaniel Richard also known as Fred Richard, 19, is an American gymnast who has also qualified to compete at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
In 2023, Richard won the bronze medal in the all-around competition at the World Championships. In 2021 and 2022, Richard was the Junior Pan American Champion.
Fred Richard Is Qualified for the 2024 Olympics After Historic Win
Fred Richard made history by becoming the first American man to win an all-around medal at the World Gymnastics Championships in 13 years. He earned a dramatic bronze medal and qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
At first, Japan’s Kenta Chiba was in third place. But in the very last routine of the whole competition, Chiba fell off the high bar. This dropped him behind Richard in the standings.
Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto won gold again, and Ukraine’s Ilia Kovtun got silver. Richard placed third ahead of Chiba.
The 19-year-old Richard is a rising star in men’s gymnastics. He is looking towards the 2024 Paris Olympics as his big moment to shine. He is considered one of the best male gymnasts the USA has ever had. Excitement has been high this summer waiting to see him make his worldwide debut.
“When it comes to the gym I’m just pushing upgrades now, trying to get those Olympic routines ready.” “I mean, imagine every single day you know you have about five months to give everything. So it’s eating right, sleeping right, putting hours into the gym, just going all in.”
Fred Richard had said in an interview.
“There’s so many people, so many young people in particular, who didn’t normally watch the sport, but because of you and because of that flavor that you bring to it.”
Fred added
Fred Richard’s Age, Parents, Family, Education, and Early Life
Fred Richard was born on April 23, 2004, in Boston, Massachusetts. He currently lives in Stoughton, Massachusetts. His full name is Frederick Richard. He went to Stoughton High School and graduated in 2022.
Fred’s dad is named Carl Richard and his mom is named Ann Marie Richard. He has two brothers named Carlton Richard and Kevin Hyacinthe. He also has one sister named Alexandra Richard.
Now Fred goes to the University of Michigan. He is on the gymnastics team there. He is studying in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. The gymnastics team he is on at Michigan is called the Michigan Wolverines Men’s Gymnastics. His coach is named Levon Karakhanyan.
Fred Richard Early Begining of Gymnastic
In 2019, Richard competed in his first National Championships at the elite level. He placed 8th all-around but won bronze on floor exercise behind Nick Kuebler and Khoi Young. After this, he was added to the junior national team for the first time.
In 2020, Richard competed in the Elite Team Cup and the Winter Cup. At the Winter Cup, he finished 3rd behind Fuzzy Benas and Asher Hong. Many other competitions that year were canceled or postponed due to COVID-19.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when Fred was 4 years old in 2008, his sister did gymnastics. She would run around and tumble when they picked her up. Fred also did handstands in his crib very early. This made his parents think they should put him in gymnastics.
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Fred’s mom said they put him in gymnastics training at a very young age. His coaches saw he had great potential in the sport. His former coach Tom Fontecchio worked to help Fred achieve his dreams.
During the pandemic, Fred started posting videos on TikTok and got 615,000 followers. He felt isolated at home during COVID. He wanted to connect with people and make an impact. At first, he did small comedy skits that got a few hundred views. But slowly he started posting more gymnastics content, which was his real passion.
Fred’s hard work led him to join the Future Stars Program at age 10. In Colorado Springs he competed to try to make the junior national team. Fred realized he was ready to take the sport very seriously. When he started high school, his love of gymnastics kept him working hard toward his goals.
Fred Richard in his Prime of the Career
In 2021, throughout high school, Richard competed nationally and internationally and won many titles. He finished 1st in the junior all-around at one competition. He placed 2nd on the high bar at the U.S. Classic. He also finished 1st on floor exercise, vault, and high bar at the 2021 U.S. Gymnastics Championships. Richard returned to compete at the National Championships and won the junior all-around title. He was picked for the team for the Junior Pan American Championships. There he helped the U.S. win gold as a team. Individually he won gold in the all-around and on vault and horizontal bar. He also won silver on the floor and bronze on the rings.
In 2022, Richard was old enough to compete as a senior but chose to stay junior for international meets. At the DTB Pokal Team Challenge, he helped the U.S. finish first. Individually he won gold on vault and parallel bars and placed 5th on the floor.
Later in 2022, at the Pan American Championships, Richard again led the U.S. to team gold. He also won the individual all-around. In event finals he won gold on floor, rings, and vault; silver on parallel bars; and bronze on pommel horse.
National and International Championships
Although he competed as a junior internationally, he did senior division at national meets. At the U.S. Classic, he did 3 events. At the National Championships, he finished 4th all-around, 3rd on floor, and 2nd on horizontal bar. This let him make the senior national team.
In 2023, Richard started competing for Michigan. He was picked for the U.S. team at the DTB Pokal Team Challenge, where they finished 1st.
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At the World University Games, Richard helped the U.S. finish 4th. Individually he made the all-around and horizontal bar finals. He placed 4th in the all-around and 7th on the horizontal bar.
At the National Championships, Richard placed 3rd all-around behind Asher Hong and Khoi Young. He was named to the Worlds team.
At Worlds, Richard contributed to 4 events to help the U.S. win bronze. He won bronze in the all-around behind Daiki Hashimoto and Illia Kovtun.
