Fearless Fred Richard: Meet the future of the U.S. men’s program

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – The spark for a dominant U.S. men’s program could be competing right in front of your eyes at the 2022 U.S. Classic this weekend, and you might not even know his name.

Let us introduce you to Fred Richard: the 18-year-old rising star who has put together a jaw-dropping junior elite resume that bodes well for his NCAA and senior elite careers.

“I’m Frederick flips,” Richard said, referring to his social media handle @frederickflips. “It’s weaved into my life – the flipping, the gymnastics. I’m just a fun, chill person.”

Since his first U.S. Championships in 2019, Richard has gone from finishing 8th in the all-around (15-16) to winning the 2021 all-around, floor, vault, and high bar national titles (17-19).

If we haven’t piqued your interest yet, let’s talk about his season to date.

2022 is shaping up to be the young phenom’s best elite season yet, winning 1st all-around and on floor, pommel horse, parallel bars, and high bar at the 2022 Men’s Development Program National Championships.

Internationally, Richard followed up four 2021 Junior Pan American Championships gold medals (Team, AA, VT, HB) with five in 2022, defending the team, all-around, and vault titles while adding floor and rings gold to his dominant haul. Between those PanAm appearances, the Massachusetts Elite Gymnastics Academy (MEGA) athlete made a pit stop in Germany to help the junior men win team gold while securing the individual vault and parallel bars titles at the 2022 DTB Pokal Cup.

Not to mention, Richard spends his free time filming TikToks for his 382,000+ followers.

So, yea, you could say the guy has been busy.

“I started thinking how do I bridge my gymnastics with fun content that anybody can understand,” Richard said. “I think it’s the best platform to reach new people. In this sport, I think we need to reach as many people as possible, so I just keep hammering that, because I want more people to see our sport.”

Post-PanAms, Richard officially moved to the senior ranks, meaning the time has come for him to test his aforementioned dominance against the big guns. He hopes to do so while emulating his gymnastics role model: two-time Olympic all-around champion Kohei Uchimura. 

“It’s what you can do under pressure,” Richard said of Uchimura. “He’s one of those gymnasts that’s shown [that] under pressure, the last event, this routine matters to win the gold medal for his country, and he just absolutely killed it. That’s the level I’m trying to get to. That’s a whole other level.”

The senior level is also, literally, a whole other level, but Richard acknowledged he’s new and has things to learn, but he’s not being hung out to dry by any means.

“We’re all really tight,” Richard said of his relationship with the seniors. “There’s competition but no personal competition. We’re all really a team. The big goal is the Olympics and worlds and competing against these other countries.”

“When I come to these competitions, they’re all going to be watching out for me,” Richard continued. “They’re always looking up, but they realize, ‘Ok, this kid’s coming up.’ I’m a good example of that. I think I’m going to push them really hard to get a lot better. I can get a lot better. I’m just starting.”

This is Richard’s first big test on the senior stage, but he’s got plenty more to come, including U.S. Championships next month, training for his first season with the Michigan Wolverines, and next year, trying to make his first world team. 

He can’t compete for a spot on the world team this season because of a FIG men’s rule that prohibits competing at the junior and senior levels in the same calendar year, but Men’s High Performance Director Brett McClure hopes to get him an invite to world team selection camp for the exposure.

“He’s fearless, which is phenomenal,” McClure said. “You give him an assignment, and he’s ready to go out there and get it done. If you tell him we want a 16-plus difficulty score on an event, he’s gonna go out there and put it all together, even if he falls three or four times. He’s not afraid to go for it. He doesn’t have any holes I see, in his basics or foundation, so he has the tools to become successful. What he lacks right now is he’s young.”

That being said, he’s already earned some looks from the leaders of the U.S. men’s program.

“When you see someone like Freddie, it just brings excitement to our team and what USA is going through and upcoming. So it’s exciting seeing young guys like this,” 2020 Olympian Yul Moldauer said. “It’s just that constant battle of making each other get better and better. And that’s what we need as a country.”

After such a dominant junior career, it can be easy to get caught up in the excitement of this new chapter or push oneself to burn out, but at least on the outside, Richard is easy-going, charismatic, and clearly dedicated to his craft.

In conversation, you wouldn’t believe he’s only 18, carrying himself with a level of maturity and confidence that makes you think he’s destined for something big.

But let’s take a step back and focus on the now: this weekend is all about getting his feet wet.

“I’m doing three events: pommel horse, parallel bars, and high bar,” Richard said. “This competition is more passage to get to U.S. Championships. [I’m] already prequalified, so the goal here is different than the other people competing.”

“Number one: this is my first big senior meet showing 10 skills,” Richard continued. “So that’s the upgrade for me – the 10 skills over eight.”

How Richard performs at the Maverik Center will set a baseline for his senior career – a journey that could see him make world and Olympic teams, maybe even helping the U.S. men’s team become competitive on the international level once more.

For now, if you have a “ones to watch” list, pencil Fred Richard in at the top, and witness a star be born.