Gymnast Fred Richard is all but likely headed to Paris in July — he’ll officially find out his fate later this month.
The 20-year-old from Stoughton, Massachusetts, earned a gold medal at the national championships earlier this year and is now focused on making the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The career lifespan of a gymnast is rather short, but Richard wants to beat the clock.
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“I’m looking to go minimum three, maybe four. Gymnastics is a lifestyle right now. I think I’m gonna keep doing this for a while. 2028 is going to be huge. L.A. Olympics, that’s the one that I want to be destroying everybody at. I got four years to really give everything to the sport,” Richard told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
Four Olympics would take him to the 2036 Olympics at the age of 36. Good thing he’s a partner with Celsius, the energy drink that is constantly getting swiped off shelves everywhere.
“I feel like when I see Celsius online, they’re highlighting that athlete lifestyle. I know there’s energy drinks for gamers — I just got that vibe that Celsius is for the athlete. And then, of course, looking at what it actually contains in it, making sure there’s no added sugar. I feel good drinking it,” Richard said.
Richard joins fellow Michigan Wolverine Blake Corum and Olympian Noah Lyles as part of Celsius’ stacked roster. And just like those two, the 200 milligrams of caffeine is a perfect pick-me-up.
“When my training gets more intense, there’s a couple times a week where I’m a lot more tired, but I still have to get through that practice and get through my assignments, then I’m taking it for extra energy. That extra boost on those days where I really need it,” he said.
Richard has been told he’s a likely Olympian since he was 10 years old, which is some pressure to put on a fifth grader. But he and his family have made plenty of sacrifices, and he wants it to be all worth it.
“It’d be huge. So many people have helped me get to this level in my life. It kind of feels like it’s come full circle,” Richard said. “I get to show that everything they did paid off. Everybody who has supported me is proud of me, but I want to go that extra mile, I want to get to the Olympic Games, pop off at the Olympic Games, and really show that the team that got me here, it all paid off.”
Of course, winning medals would be huge for Richard, but right now, he’s focused on just putting on a good performance and putting himself on the map.
“I like medals, so getting some of those would be pretty cool,” he said. “I think the biggest thing, though, that would make me feel like I won is everybody sees my performances and says, ‘wow, that kid’s gonna be something great.’ And then they follow me after that. Just go in there, tell the whole world I’m at the highest level.”
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