Gymnastics is a sport of inches, and Fred Richard knows it better than anyone. One step on a landing, one wobble on a handstand, and it all adds up. And on Day 1 of the 2025 Winter Cup, the math wasn’t in his favor. A few uncharacteristic mistakes? And some deductions for revolution. Even worse. Now, he sits in second with a 79.900, trailing Riley Loos (80.400), with Taylor Burkhart (79.750) right on his heels. The fight for the U.S. Senior National Team is on, and Richard knows it will take a near-flawless finish to stay in contention and has something to say about it.

“This is going to be a tough fight. I made some big mistakes in the qualification, and they add scores from both days of competition,” Richard admitted in an Instagram reel before the finals. The said Instagram reel was a compilation of his Day 1 performance in the Winter Cup 2025. Which did show the problems with his performance. On the floor, he tried a handspring front double full but landed low, jumping sideways and stepping off the mat. Parallel bars didn’t treat him much better—he had trouble with a Bhavsar or Tippelt but pulled off a strong dismount. Pommel’s horse turned out tricky as well, as poor leg form led him to touch the apparatus, and his dismount looked shaky.

But his misses weren’t the only thing costing him scores! It was something more! Richard walked into the Kentucky International Convention Center, Louisville, two days back—not just with his gymnastics but with an unusual gymnastics attire. On this front, Olympian added, “So I come with a disadvantage on top of that deduction for the new uniform. I am fighting an uphill battle. But it ain’t over till it is over. Gotta stick to the landing.”

After ditching the traditional singlet, the Olympic bronze medalist sported a bold new look: a loose tank top paired with mid-thigh shorts, layered over white leggings. It was part basketball, part soccer, all innovation. But while the crowd embraced the fresh style, the judges were less forgiving, docking him three-tenths per day for the uniform violation.

Richard faced an uphill battle to salvage first place, and with every mistake, the comeback became even tougher. But did he manage to turn things around? No need to wait—the final results are in!

Fred Richard Finishes 2nd, Riley Loos Crowned Champion

The final moments of the Winter Cup 2025 were electric. And for the 2 place, Fred Richard, the gymnast known for his daring difficulty and fearless routines, stood on the floor, knowing every skill, every landing, and every turn mattered. Could he close the gap with the leader Riley Loos? Could he erase the small but costly deductions that had crept into his performances all weekend? The answer came not with a fall or a missed element, but in the quiet, relentless way the scoreboard tells its truth.

Richard, who scored 159.000 in total (prelims + finals), gave an account of both his brilliance and the unforgiving nature of gymnastics. His routines carried some of the highest difficulty scores in the field, but the details—the landings, the execution, and the polish—had cost him. His final tally was cut by a series of deductions:

• Floor Exercise: -0.3 neutral deduction (ND) in finals.
• Pommel Horse: -0.3 ND in finals.
• Rings: -0.3 ND in prelims.
• Uniform penalties: Additional deductions further slicing into his score.

A contest of high risk versus excellence was what manifested, and it was Loos who emerged victorious this time around. 24-year-old Riley Loos from Stanford University chose not to chase the same level of difficulty as Richard. It probably was not necessary for him. He was relying on consistency, control, and execution. At the end of the two-day competition, Loos won the title at 160.850 points over Richard by nearly two points.

For Loos, it was the culmination of years of grinding through the ranks. Three all-around at the 2019, 2022, and 2023 U.S. Junior Championships, a team gold medalist at the 2018 Pan American Championships, and the 2023 bronze in floor at the Baku World Cup, he had always been on the fringes. But today? Today, he was the champion.