This was a fight about Singlets, the men’s most common costume worn in college and elite gymnastics. Fred Richard was determined. “I’m making this change…..” He took zero seconds to drop those on February 12. He had no intention of wearing Singlets in his first gymnastics contest after the Paris Olympics. Instead, he voted for wearing pommel horse pants, a pair of shorts, and a loose tank top. But do you think his job was easy? Not at all.

The Boston native had his own challenges. In the Winter Cup 2025, Riley Loos kept Fred Richard away from the top podium. The Stanford alum had the better score and a wide smile on his face for taking up the first position in the men’s gymnastics all-around event. But Fred has a wider smile. He knew that despite coming second to Riley, he had already entered history. After all, he was successful in hitting at the roots of the 130-year-old tradition active in men’s gymnastics. And fortunately, Richard’s bravado has been witnessed by many. So, a celebration is justified, right? 

On February 27, Fred Richard shared a video message through his Instagram handle. The caption remained, “History was made. Thanks for all the support [emoji].” How was the support? Fred’s video featured a lot of headlines and published articles from major media houses. In every piece, the topic remained the same—how Fred Richard stood against the wind and was the first one to raise a voice against the Singlets? Moreover, in the video, Fred mentioned that there had been another question around and it was about the deductions he had to digest in the Winter Cup 2025 because of him saying no to traditional Singlet. He was open to never-ending curiosity among netizens.

In the video, the 20-year-old informed that there had been a deduction of three-tenths and it didn’t hurt his cause. “The highest level, the Olympics, those three-tenths matter a lot. In these competitions, you know, I was willing to risk it. I ended up in second place,” he conceded. In the final all-around list, he was second. But the headline was on his costume and that’s what he wanted from the Winter Cup this year. That emotion came in Richard’s voice subsequently. 

In the middle of the video, Fred said, “It was my first ever competition back from the Olympics, competing all six events in a meet. But the uniform, I think, was a crazy step. It’s making history.” He was correct. His dress in the Winter Cup 2025 stirred the pot. The fans are now discussing it and supporting him to take such a groundbreaking step. In Fred’s words, “Petitions going in.” Such efforts might motivate him to step onto a bigger platform wearing the same dress to protest against Singlets. 

Shedding light on this, the gymnast said, “Hopefully, I walk into the Olympics in 2028 wearing a uniform like this. The more people talk about it, support it, the higher chance it has of being changed. So help me out, guys.” Something huge is on the cards and Richard is determined to get himself out of the club of Singlets-wearing gymnasts.

But still, bigger problems are waiting around the corner. 

Would Fred Richard’s effort solve another issue? 

The future of men’s artistic gymnastics in the USA is still critical. The evidence was present at the very contest Fred Richard chose to go against the tradition of wearing Singlets in the gymnastics competitions. And what was the evidence? In the Winter Cup 2025, the men’s gymnastics events witnessed fewer footfalls compared to the women’s events.

There had been a few to watch Fred perform on the mat wearing Singlets. However, on social media and online platforms, the world championship medalist did receive a lot of traffic. But that might not be actually helpful in preventing the universities from cutting down funding from the scholarship of the men’s gymnastics program. That’s another issue, right? Putting men’s gymnastics at risk? But any measure to stop that? 

In the past, Stephen Nedoroscik remained vocal on the issue. After landing stunning results in the Paris Olympics, he dropped several posts protesting against the universities’ steps. Fred also remained concerned. He has noticed the trends in dropping out of the number of men’s artistic gymnasts in the college program and explained his worries. But a concrete approach has yet to come. The gymnastics fans will remain hopeful to see one soon.