2024-07-30 22:55:02
It was “as cool as it gets” the Olympic announcers said as he finished a high bar routine.
Which is exactly what Massachusetts’s Frederick Richard has dreamed about, having told media outlets that he hopes to make gymnastics cool.
“It goes back to me kind of feeling what my purpose is in the sport — It is to grow the sport,” he told NBC, when telling them about his popular TikTok account, which has over 700,000 followers and counting.
And as he Richards nailed his high bar routine, NBC commentators heaped on the praise.
What commentators said about Richard’s high bar performance
Richard had already led off on rings with a solid 14.03, a half-point improvement on his rings score in qualifying.
That momentum brought him into the high bar where he soared, coming up big with a 14.833.
“There it is,” one commentator said as he stuck the landing.
“My goodness. A monster routine,” the next chimed in.
“He didn’t just hit it, he upgraded it,” one said, referring to places where he added difficulty to the routine.
“I mean that’s what you dream about. Team meet. I‘m going to set the hardest routine I can do. At the most critical time at the Olympic Team Finals. I’m going to hit it and I’m going to hit the dismount,” the commentator said.
The live feed then cut to video of Richard’s parent’s celebrating. Richard’s high-bar routine had social media buzzing.
How did Frederick Richard score overall?
Richard has a very good night. He shined in high bars with 14.833, but he did well overall with scores of 14.466 in floor, 14.033 in rings, and 14.566 on parallel bars.
The 20-year-old led team USA.
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How did Team USA do?
For the first time in 16 years, the U.S. men’s gymnastics team claimed a medal: bronze.
Stephen Nedoroscik, a pommel horse specialist whose only contribution to the team score came on the very last routine of the night, helped clinch the bronze for Team USA with the highest scoring routine of the night at 14.866. Nedoroscik is from Worcester, Massachusetts.
When will Frederick Richard compete next?
Richard will be back in the gym on Wednesday, July 31 for the all-around finals. It will start at 10:30 a.m. Paul Juda will also be competing.
