Oct 15, 2026 · 7 min · 6 segments
Frederick Richard, the 22-year-old Olympic gymnast from Stoughton, spoke with WBUR about what the upcoming World Championships mean for him, learning gymnastics in Massachusetts and what changes he…
Frederick RichardGuest
Lisa Mullins
When I say everything, it's the competition that decides whether all the work I put in my whole life has finally gotten me to the highest level.
This competition, world championships, is, what they say, is actually harder to win than the Olympics.
You face the best in the world from any country, no matter how good or bad their country is.
Whereas at the Olympics, they only let 18 countries in, and if your country isn't one of those 18, no matter how good you are, you can't compete in the Olympics.
... and I wonder if when you were a kid in Stoughton, um, working out at the gym there, if you ever imagined yourself in this position now.
I think when you're a kid, you dream of it, but you never can really, like, imagine how it's normal now.
But no, as a kid, I just loved the sport, I loved flipping, and I wanted to reach my full potential.
But you forget, like, it is actually possible to become one of the best, and now it's reality, which is crazy.
When I say everything, it's the competition that decides whether all the work I put in my whole life has finally gotten me to the highest level.
This competition, world championships, is, what they say, is actually harder to win than the Olympics.
You face the best in the world from any country, no matter how good or bad their country is.
Whereas at the Olympics, they only let 18 countries in, and if your country isn't one of those 18, no matter how good you are, you can't compete in the Olympics.
... and I wonder if when you were a kid in Stoughton, um, working out at the gym there, if you ever imagined yourself in this position now.
I think when you're a kid, you dream of it, but you never can really, like, imagine how it's normal now.
But no, as a kid, I just loved the sport, I loved flipping, and I wanted to reach my full potential.
But you forget, like, it is actually possible to become one of the best, and now it's reality, which is crazy.
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