Olympic and world bronze medalist Fred Richard said Tuesday that he’s “locking in on gymnastics.”

Just days after graduating from Michigan – and walking across the stage in signature Fred fashion – Richard shared a career update as he shifts his focus back to elite gymnastics.

“What’s next?” Richard starts in the video. “I’m locking in for world championships this October.”

Then comes the bold claim: “I’m calling it: there will be a gold medal from Worlds on my neck somehow – probably all-around [gold] – somehow!”

Richard said that, this year, he’s not traveling outside the country for six months, referencing his 2025 adventures that took him around the world, including to Asia and Uganda.

The 22-year-old said he’s pursuing his full potential this year. He’s going to be living in the gym and doing two practices a day as he strives to achieve that ambitious goal.

Possible or pushing it?

So is all-around gold – or any gold – achievable for Richard at 2026 Worlds?

Well, obviously, he won world all-around bronze in 2023, and that was without hitting all six of his routines. With that medal, Richard became the youngest U.S. male gymnast to win an individual world medal and the country’s first men’s all-around medalist since 2010.

To win world gold, Richard’s biggest competition will likely be Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto.

Hashimoto is the reigning three-time world champion, owning every world all-around title since 2022. Those all came after his breakout performance at the Tokyo Olympics, where he won gold in the all-around and on high bar. Across all events, Hashimoto is a four-time Olympic medalist and 12-time world medalist – clearly, the man to beat.

The 24-year-old Japanese star has had a solid start to his 2026 season, winning bronze with Team Japan at American Cup in March and edging Paris Olympic all-around champion Shinnosuke Oka for his sixth-straight All-Japan all-around title in April.

Fred’s full potential

When he is competing his full difficulty, Richard is one of the best all-arounders in the U.S. and the world. He’s also strong on high bar and floor.

Last season, Richard was a leader of the Michigan team that won the NCAA title, but after that meet, he spent much of the summer focused on other endeavors, like breaking the world backflip record and raising money to help gymnasts with substantially less resources than those in the U.S.

Those are all worthwhile endeavors in their own right, but the time out of the gym seemed to add up. Richard was still able to put together a strong performance at the U.S. championships in August, but second in the all-around and no individual event wins isn’t ideal for an individual Worlds. So Richard sat at home while the U.S. squad went to Jakarta, Indonesia.

So far in 2026, Richard is looking strong once again. He won the Winter Cup all-around and floor titles before focusing on the rest of NCAA season, and although the Wolverines weren’t able to pull off the repeat, Richard was able to win the NCAA all-around title – the third and final of his college career.

Richard’s 84.359 at Winter Cup – a 2026 high for him so far – isn’t far off from Hashimoto (85.582) and Oka’s (84.999) top scores at All-Japan. (Note: Comparing domestic scores from two different countries should be done with a grain of salt.)

If that was Richard’s early season peak, it can be assumed he’s looking to go bigger as the U.S. elite season begins in earnest later this summer. For now, he’s got his degree under his belt, and it’s time to make gymnastics No. 1 once again.