Fred Richard won the men's all-around title at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
In Phoenix, the 22-year-old athlete beat Shane Wiskus and Danila Leykin, becoming the second Black gymnast to win this title. Richard's victory shows that despite his TikTok antics and business ventures, his preparation for the Olympics in Los Angeles is in full swing.
"Winning matters to show that your process is working," Richard said late Saturday.
Richard's methods sometimes conflict with traditional norms of the sport. Instead of the usual stirrup pants, he wears shorts with white compression leggings, incurring a three-tenths neutral deduction each time. This is an experiment he started at the University of Michigan, and he has no plans to abandon it.
On Thursday, this deduction narrowed his lead over Leykin, but Richard did not change his approach. His goal is to make gymnastics fun for a new audience, and winning is a key part of that plan.