Fred Richard will, in all likelihood, be participating in his first Olympics, even as most of the world's eyes will be on the women's side with Simone Biles entering her third Games.
However, as experienced and successful as Biles is, she will still have a lot more pressure on her than 20-year-old Richard. However, Richard said that's the nature of sport: women will always have more pressure than men.
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Fred Richard competes in the Rings event during the 2024 Xfinity USA Gymnastics Championships at Dickies Arena on June 1, 2024 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Elsa/Getty Images)
“They have a lot more eyes on them, a lot more people tuning in. Of course, that's pressure in itself,” Richard said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
According to Richard, the cultures of men and women are polar opposites.
“I think the male community is much calmer and more relaxed, whereas girls, when they're younger, this is everything, this is your life, and if you don't win medals, you're a failure in every way,” she said. “I think men have built a culture that's a little different than where we can go out and have a little more fun and be a little more relaxed, where women, that's just the culture. Much more tense, much less celebration.” . much stricter, there is a lot at stake.”
Perhaps Biles is facing even more pressure than she originally planned after she came under fire for missing several Olympic events in 2021 after experiencing a case of “twisties” or, better yet, howling in gymnastics. So after winning four gold medals in Rio in 2016, Biles competed in just one individual event five years later, winning bronze on the balance beam.
First place winner Simone Biles celebrates on the uneven bars podium during the 2024 Xfinity USA Gymnastics Championships at Dickies Arena on June 2, 2024 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Elsa/Getty Images)
However, they seem almost cured and she is back to her usual self. She won four gold medals at the 2023 World Championships, bringing her medal tally at that tournament to 23.
“I am very excited [to watch her in Paris]. “She is by far the most entertaining gymnast for many reasons,” Richard said. “The way she came back, most comebacks are good: hers is dominant, she's destroying everyone. She's motivating on my part. He's fun to watch.”
“I'll be cheering her on at the Olympics, we'll do our thing. It's fun for me to look up to her when she was younger and now to be by her side and watch her dominate.”
Simone Biles, center, on the podium to receive her gold medal for the all-around title from Shilese Jones, left, who won the silver medal, and Jordan Chiles, who won the bronze medal, during the 2024 Core Hydration Gymnastics Classic in the XL. Center, Hartford on May 18, 2024, in Hartford, Connecticut. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
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Richard, who attends the University of Michigan, will be at the US Trials in Minnesota later this month hoping to participate in his first Olympic Games.
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