Just last year, at the 2024 Olympics, he stood alongside Stephen Nedoroscik to help end Team USA’s long Olympic medal drought, clinching a bronze in the Team Finals. Now, in 2025, under the Ugandan sun, this gymnast has set his sights on a different mission: transforming the state of gymnastics in the country. Determined to replace worn-out tires with proper springs and upgrade the training conditions, the Olympian introduced bold reforms. But not everyone welcomed the changes. Criticism followed. Still, champions rarely know how to give up…

The Olympic champion? Frederick Richard! And the backlash? Well, users on Reddit were keen to point out the loopholes in Fred’s plan. One user particularly noted a serious concern. They wrote about the financial transparency in the non-profit run by Richards. As per the user, the website’s PayPal landed them to a username that “does not mention the organization at all.” However, to say this, “I want to finish this by saying this is not meant to be an attack on Fred,” was also the sentiment.

On the other side, Richards remains optimistic while fighting this backlash. Gymnastics Now reported this week that, “Soon after this original set of videos, Richard set up a GoFundMe page with the goal of crowdfunding for gymnastics equipment in a partnership between the FrederickFlips Foundation and the Dominican Health and Education Initiative.” On April 28, Frederick Flips Richards made a post on his Instagram, captioned, “Gofundme is officially set up in bio! Let’s make greatness happen💪🏾”. In the reel, he said that he needs the money to raise funds to send proper gymnastics gear—mats, springboards, trampolines—and help establish a safe training facility in Uganda.

They also reported that, “Within three days, the GoFundMe had already raised over $2,500, but this was just the beginning of Richard’s charitable efforts. A few days after the page went live, he announced his intention to break the world record for consecutive backflips in 24 hours in order to draw attention to his fundraiser.” On May 2, 2025, Fred attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the most standing backflips in 24 hours, aiming to surpass the previous mark of 1,001 flips . He succeeded and went beyond, landing 1,111 backflips.

“Within less than a week of his record-breaking feat, the GoFundMe had raised over $50,000 through more than 1,000 individual donors,” the site reported. The GoFundMe campaign that started at $2,500 now stands at USD 60,880 with donations from one thousand six hundred people. The target is $100,000.

Fred Richard, determined and bold, challenges gymnastics’ rigid traditions. He looks to boost men’s gymnastics and also change the lives of children in Uganda.

Frederick Richards had always wanted to change gymnastics

“Every competition I go to, I look at the crowd and I see a lot of seats open. I say, I want to change this. And this is the first step,” he said. The man hopes this man will help boost men’s gymnastics.  Only 15 colleges and universities sponsor a men’s gymnastics program, including the University of Michigan. By contrast, there are 87 women’s programs.

“I think we all realize this is bigger than us,” he said. “We all grew up giving everything to the sport. We want other kids to have that opportunity, to have way more colleges to select from and to get blessed with what they deserve, because the sport deserves so much more.” Fred Richard introduced a new, more comfortable gymnastics uniform—featuring a looser tank, basketball-style shorts, and leggings—at the 2025 Winter Cup.

Although he received a deduction for violating current FIG rules, he still placed second. The design sparked debate but gained support for its inclusivity and modern appeal. While not yet FIG-approved, discussions are underway for NCAA acceptance and potential future rule changes, with hopes of official approval by the 2028 Olympics. What are your thoughts on this?