The American gymnast Frederick Richard has won his first senior all-around U.S. national championship, becoming just the second Black man in history to achieve the feat. He follows John Orozco, a fellow Black Catholic who won nationals in 2012.
Richard posted a final score of 170.015 at the 2026 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships, held at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, where he bested second place by more than two points.
“It feels good. It's one of those things that was on the list of what I hadn't done. I needed to prove that I can win a U.S. championship," he told reporters after the historic win, which followed silver-medal performances in 2025 and 2024.
“I walked in knowing I'm definitely good enough to win this competition.”
In addition to his all-around title, Richard placed first in the floor exercises, one of his top events. He also placed fourth in the high bar, posting a 15.005 on night 2—the highest single-routine score of the competition.
Both of Richard’s apparatus wins came despite an automatic 0.3-point deduction because of what competition organizers consider an “improper uniform.”
Richard, who maintains a strong social media presence promoting gymnastics to millions of followers, said he intentionally wore shorts instead of traditional stirrup pants to make the uniform more appealing to prospective young athletes.
"Kids would say, ‘Do you do gymnastics?’ I'd say ‘Yeah.’ But I didn't want them to search 'gymnast' and see the uniform,” he told CBS News. “I didn't feel like it was cool.”
One of the most visible male gymnasts in the world in terms of popularity, Richard is also considered a front-runner for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where he will face stiff competition from the world elites.
He has spoken of his 2026 competitions as preparation for the top international event, including his NCAA all-around championship in April, when he helped the University of Michigan Wolverines to a third-place team finish in Illinois. Richard also took the all-around crown at the 2026 Winter Cup in February.
Courtesy of his win in Phoenix, Richard made Team USA’s five-man squad for the 2026 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, scheduled to be held from October 17-25 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The team’s performance there could lead to an early qualification for the Olympics, which Ricard said is another of his immediate goals.
The 22-year-old Massachusetts native, who won bronze in the all-around at Worlds in 2023, has yet to medal in an individual event at the Olympics—having helped the United States secure a team bronze in Paris in 2024.
Nate Tinner-Williams is the co-founder of Black Catholic Messenger.
