Paris Olympics Medalist Fred Richard Stands Firm on Revolutionizing Men’s Gymnastics Despite Penalty Threat

Fred Richard has never been one to play it safe! In Paris, under the blinding lights of Bercy Arena, he stood at the high bar, knowing exactly what was at stake. Team USA hadn’t won an Olympic team medal in men’s gymnastics since 2008. Six rotations. No room for error. As he swung through the air, twisting, releasing, and grabbing the bar with the kind of effortless precision that masked years of grueling repetition, he wasn’t just competing but was making history. When the final scores dropped, confirming Team USA’s bronze, the drought was over. But if you thought that was bold, just wait. Richard isn’t done shaking up men’s gymnastics!

Men’s gymnastics is a sport bound by tradition, but Fred Richard, with a bold vision, is ready to shake things up at the Winter Cup, a pivotal event for U.S. national team selection and a gateway to the Olympic roster. He’s tired of the stiff, restrictive uniforms that have defined the sport for decades. And he’s doing something about it. A new design. A fresh look. One that feels right for him. He knows the consequences, but to him, the cause is worth it.

“I honestly hate this uniform, so I’m changing it,” Richard said in an Instagram reel uploaded yesterday about men’s gymnastics traditional attire has remained virtually untouched—a uniform of tight-fitting tank tops, unitards, and foot-hugging pants.

The long, tight design—often referred to as pommel horse pants or stirrup pants, have been a staple of the sport. But Richard sees them as relics of the past. “First of all, pommel horse pants—long, tight, they hook around your foot. We’ve had Paul Moore’s pants for like a hundred years. Culture’s changed, style has changed. I feel this goofiness.” He added.

His frustration doesn’t stop there. The unitard, another mainstay of men’s gymnastics attire, is designed for full-body coverage and a snug fit. But Richard argues that it’s more of a hindrance than a help. he said, “We’re getting rid of that. Next, the unitard. Put it on over your legs, and it goes up your crotch—tight, restricting you—and then you put it on your shoulders.” And then there’s the tank top. Gymnasts wear tight, form-fitting tops to maintain clean lines for the judges, but Richard sees them as unnecessarily constrictive. “The tight tank top—honestly, it just feels like you’re wearing a shirt that’s two sizes too small. We’re getting rid of that. You can make it way looser but still show everything it needs to show and look clean.”

But there’s a cost to innovation. The Winter Cup follows strict rules, and any deviation from the traditional uniform means an automatic deduction. For most gymnasts, that risk would be too great. But Richard is taking it head-on. “Winter cup competition, the way to qualify to U.S. national team, it’s where they choose the Olympians. So this weekend, the uniform will be debuted, no one’s seen it yet, but I’m going to be deducted for wearing this uniform. So I’ll have to still perform really well and I’m going to have to pop off so I can still win. 

A Boston native and 3x NCAA All-American who will wear a redesigned uniform at the Winter Cup, starting on 21 February isn’t the only athlete to challenge uniform regulations. In 1985, Michael Jordan defied NBA rules with his Air Jordan 1 sneakers, leading to a $5,000 fine. Similarly, Serena Williams’ 2018 French Open catsuit, designed for health reasons, was banned, igniting debates on tradition versus innovation.

For Richard, as he pushes boundaries and challenges the norm, the big question remains—can Fred Richard’s bold move actually shake up men’s gymnastics the way Stephen Nedoroscik’s “Superman moment” did? With the sport facing what many see as a major crisis, will Richard be the one to turn the tide?

Fred Richard and Others Fight as Men’s Gymnastics Faces a Crisis

Men’s gymnastics is experiencing a major change.  The FIG, which is the governing body of gymnastics worldwide, has implemented major scoring changes whereby only 8 of the 10 elements are counted in routines in all apparatus except vault. This should reward execution instead of extreme difficulty, but with that comes the knowledge that gymnasts will have even fewer chances to show their full technical arsenal.

Meanwhile, in the United States, the sport is struggling at the collegiate level. News is calling for concern since the 1970s, when more than 150 NCAA Division I universities supported men’s gymnastics programs; the number today has dwindled to 12. Because schools wish to comply with Title IX, the federal law that mandates equal opportunities for male and female athletes.

The fallout has extended into other countries; men’s gymnastics has virtually disappeared altogether from international competition in several countries that traditionally have done well with the sport, such as Cuba. Cuban gymnastics coach Damian Merino remembers the sport’s golden years when he said “I competed in every Moncada tournament between 1989 and 1996, which were highly competitive due to the participation of top gymnasts from the socialist bloc.”

But today, the once-formidable Cuban program is nowhere to be seen. Despite these challenges, gymnasts like Fred Richard and Stephen Nedoroscik are determined to push forward and raise awareness about the sport’s struggles. Nedoroscik, the 2021 pommel horse world champion, has been vocal about the financial misconceptions that often lead to program cuts.

“Men’s gymnastics is not going to cost you as much as you think. There’s so much talent in this country that will never be able to reach its true potential because people are cutting programs.” The efforts of Richard, Nedoroscik have been crucial and we should see how things pens in the future.