American artistic gymnast Fred Richard posted a video on social media to share a career update after finishing his collegiate journey with the Michigan Wolverines last month. He spoke about continuing his elite gymnastics career and revealed a major strategy for doing so, just five months before the 2026 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.

Richard has publicly declared that he expects to win at the World Championships, which are set to take place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, from October 17 to 25 this year. In the Instagram video post, captioned, “I have to go get it,” the 22-year-old claimed that he will win a gold medal at the World Championships at Rotterdam Ahoy.

He said, “This October, I’m calling it. There will be a gold medal from Worlds on my neck. I got an Olympic medal two years ago. Since then, I haven’t had a world championship medal. Obviously, no Olympics, 2028 is the next Olympics.”

“Just finished college, great four years. Come out with another NCAA championship. So what’s next? I'm locking in for world championships this October.”

Richard also said that he will likely reach the top step of the podium in the all-around event at the World Championships, and he outlined his strategy for doing so.

He explained, “I’m calling it: there will be a gold medal from Worlds on my neck. Somehow, probably all-around, somehow. I know people are like, ‘Bro, who is this kid?’ But I’m going to prove it, because this time I’m locking in on gymnastics. I’m not traveling outside the country for the next six months."

“I’m locking in, living in the gym, two practices a day. I’m excited to see what is my full potential. Let’s do this thing,” Richard concluded.

Fred Richard is already a two-time World Championships medalist

During his young artistic gymnastics career, Fred Richard has already won two World Championships medals, both bronze.

In Antwerp, Belgium, he became the youngest American gymnast to win a World Championships all-around medal in 2023, posting a score of 84.332. Richard also played a key role in helping Team USA reach the podium after competing in four events.

His only Olympic medal, also a bronze, came in the team event at Paris 2024.

Apart from his success in elite gymnastics, Richard also excelled in collegiate gymnastics during his four years with the Michigan Wolverines. He was a key performer in Michigan’s 2025 NCAA Championship victory, winning the all-around title with a score of 84.264. Richard repeated that feat during the recently concluded 2026 season, scoring 83.598, although Michigan finished third overall at the national championships.

During his freshman year in 2023, he won the all-around title with a score of 85.989. He also claimed the parallel bars title (15.000) and the high bar title (14.433) at the national championships, helping Michigan finish second that year.

With all of these achievements, Richard became a 19-time NCAA All-American and was named the 2026 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year.

Read more at the Gymnastics Digest!

Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Sahil Prashar