Halfway through another Olympic cycle, how is US gymnast Frederick Richard preparing for the 2028 Los Angeles Games?
Frederick Richard is in the middle.
A little more than 700 days ago, the Stoughton native competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and won a team bronze medal for the United States.
In a little more than 700 days, he hopes he will be competing at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
What does someone who wants to go to a second Games and win medals do in the middle of a four-year Olympic cycle? Do you pick up the pace and intensity toward LA, or do you keep things slow and steady?
“I would say it’s like this weird period,” said Richard recently from his training base in Ann Arbor, Mich. “You don’t want to be sprinting two years out. It feels like it’s around the corner. But if you do start sprinting, coaches fear you won’t make it all two years.
“It’s a balance of being more intense, but also having the right amount of rest throughout the week to keep the body healthy and being strategic with what skills I’m competing now.”
Richard enters the second half of the journey to Los Angeles this week at the US Gymnastics Championships in Phoenix, where he will compete in the all-around for the first time since winning his third NCAA all-around title in April.
The championships are missing several of Richard’s teammates from the 2024 Olympics — Asher Hong and Brody Malone qualified but are not competing, and Malone has not committed to a run to 2028. Paul Juda has retired.
In fact, the only two members of the bronze-winning team competing this week are from Massachusetts, Richard and Worcester’s Stephen Nedoroscik, better known to the world as “The Pommel Horse Guy,” who makes a comeback after injury sidelined him for most of the past year.
“I’m excited that Stephen will be there,” said Richard. “I haven’t seen Stephen compete in a while.”
While Richard wants to keep these US Championships two years out from the Olympics in perspective, it does present an excellent opportunity to solidify his candidacy for those Games. Every member of the 2024 Olympic squad medaled at the 2022 US Championships except for Juda (who was injured), including alternates Khoi Young and Shane Wiskus. Wiskus is also returning to competition this week, and Richard mentioned him as one to watch.
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With the absences of Hong and Malone, there will be a new all-around winner for the first time since 2021. Richard has his eyes on that title, having made improvements leading up to the event.
“I have no one outlandish skill you’ll see, but from my last competition I’ve upgraded about a point, almost a point and a half,” said Richard. “In gymnastics terms, that means I have about four or five upgrades throughout my all-around. I’m on the right trajectory to close the gap between the top guys in the world.”
Richard finished second in the all-around at the US Championships in 2025, after spending much of the spring and summer retooling his training regimen and technique after training with the Chinese and Japanese national teams. It wasn’t a good enough performance to make the world championships team, which was focused on apparatus specialists, not all-arounders. With a year of those changes under his belt, Richard’s gymnastics is in a better place.
“[Training in Asia] changed everything,” he said. “The biggest thing I took away from them is that you’re in routine shape all year long. So NCAAs finished in April, and the week after I was doing routines. I haven’t left routine shape, but my body’s still healthier than ever.”
Another big change to Richard’s training? For the first time in his life, it’s his main responsibility. He graduated from the University of Michigan in May, and he has made the decision to remain in Michigan to train with his college coach, Yuan Xiao.
That doesn’t mean Richard will be a stranger to Stoughton. After the US Championships, he will head back to his hometown for his second annual Frederick Flips Fair at Stoughton High School on Aug. 15. The community event, which had 1,500 attendees in 2025, celebrates gymnastics, with games, food trucks, a touch-a-truck, obstacle courses, and performances.
“There’s more to gymnastics than the rigorous training and the high-pressure competitions,” said Richard. “We have so many skills, talents, and where else can we use them and enjoy them? The fair is a way to bring the community together for gymnastics and fun and athletics. We can get more creative with the ways that kids can enjoy this sport.”
Richard is still enjoying gymnastics himself, and the support from USA Gymnastics, his coaches, and community continue to motivate him in the middle of his second journey to the Olympics.
“I don’t want to take [the support] for granted,” said Richard. “I want to take advantage of it.”
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