Here’s how long it’s been since the U.S. took home a team medal in men’s gymastics.
It probably feels like it’s been so long since the U.S. won an Olympic team medal in any sort of men’s gymnastics event. If you’re here, you’re probably wondering one thing: *HOW LONG* has it been?
The answer is actually kind of daunting. It’s been 16 years. YES. 16 YEARS.
The last team medal was won by the United States in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics. Alexander “Sasha” Artemev helped the men’s squad take home a bronze medal with a fantastic pommel horse performance, very similar to the way Stephen Nedorosocik helped Team USA win a bronze medal Monday evening during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Here are the rosters for Team USA men’s and women’s gymnastics at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 2024 Paris Olympics will bring back one of the most beloved Olympic events out there with gymnastics.
Team USA has always performed among the best in the world in gymnastics, with its athletes becoming global stars for what they can do on the mats and high beams.
This year’s Team USA gymnastics men’s and women’s teams are filled with recognizable names and some newcomers who will represent America in some of the most beloved Olympic Games competitions.
The 20-year-old Michigan Wolverine is ready to make some noise at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
For the Paris Olympics this summer, For The Win is helping you get to know some of the star Olympians competing on the world’s biggest stage. We’re highlighting 15 Team USA athletes in the 15 days leading up to the Opening Ceremony. Up next is Frederick Richard.
It might be his first Olympics, but men’s gymnast Frederick Richard has high hopes for Paris. The 20-year-old from Boston secured a spot on the team with an impressive first-place finish in all-around at U.S. Olympic trials and finished in the top three in three events (high bar, parallel bars and floor exercise).
Here are five things to know about Richard ahead of the Paris Olympics.
Richard unsurprisingly saw great success with the Wolverines, helping Michigan finish runner-up at NCAA championships in both 2023 and 2024. He also finished first place in the all-around competition in 2023 and second this year, with NCAA titles on both parallel bars and high bar in 2023.
As a rising junior, Richard will have a chance to better those finishes in the near future.
2. His best event is high bar
Jun 29, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Frederick Richard competes on the high bar during the U.S. Olympic Team Gymnastics Trials at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
As the top-qualifying member of this year’s squad, it stands to reason that Frederick is very good across most of the events. But his performance on high bar may be just a bit better than the rest, as evidenced by his No. 1 finish in the event at the 2024 Olympic trials and the 2023 U.S. national championships.
He’s not just looking to win one event in the City of Lights.
“I want to enter the Olympics with the whole country knowing, like, that’s Frederick Richard, like this man is going to do it,” Richard said in a June 19 interview with NBC.
3. His parents get super into his routines (understandably)
Get ready to see his adorable parents, Carl and Ann-Marie, get into it in the Parisian stands this month. Richard’s father is especially enthusiastic, and the pair follow every flip, vault, tumble and dismount with bated breath.
Whether you’re looking for behind the scenes content, highlights from routines, physical challenges or just pure personality, Richard brings it all to his TikTok account, @frederickflips.
Hopefully we will get a bit of a behind the scenes in Paris, courtesy of Richard’s accounts.
5. Men’s gymnastics at the Olympics begins on July 27
You don’t have to wait long to see Richard in action as men’s gymnastics gets underway on day one with qualifiers for all events taking place Saturday, July 27. The men’s squad will look to medal as a team with finals on July 29, and then individual events will run finals through August 5.
Hezly Rivera may be the next U.S. gymnast to become a household name
For the Paris Olympics this summer, For The Win is helping you get to know some of the star Olympians competing on the world’s biggest stage. We’re highlighting 15 Team USA athletes in the 15 days leading up to the Opening Ceremony. Up next is Hezly Rivera.
In the long line of stars produced by USA Gymnastics, Hezly Rivera is next in the queue, and she may be sticking around for quite awhile.
After qualifying for Paris by tying Joscelyn Roberson for the highest overall beam score (27.975) at June trials in Minneapolis, the New Jersey native is set to make a run for the podium in her first Olympics.
Here’s a bit more about her.
1. Hezly Rivera is the youngest Olympian on Team USA
Suni Lee, Hezly Rivera, Jade Carey, Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles pose for a photo after being selected for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s gymnastics team during the U.S. Olympic Team Gymnastics Trials at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
At 16 years, 26 days old when she qualified, Rivera is the youngest member of Team USA’s Olympic delegation across all sports. She’s 11 years younger than Simone Biles.
2. Rivera won two silver medals at the 2023 World Junior Championship
One for team performance and one for her floor exercise.
Hezly Rivera of WOGA Gymnastics performs on balance beam during day two of the women’s 2024 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships at Dickies Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
If those names sound familiar — and they should — it’s because they are the parents and coaches of former USA Olympics gymnastics star Nastia Liukin who run the famed WOGA Gymnastics in Dallas.
4. Her career started because of a birthday party at age 5
According to Olympics.com, Rivera got her start in the sport by attending a gymnastics-themed birthday party of a friend that was held in a local gym.
She performed so well that the coaches reportedly approached Rivera’s parents afterwards to urge her to continue by trying out for their team. Barely a decade later, she’s an Olympian.
5. Women’s gymnastics at the Olympics begins on July 28
You’ll have to wake up pretty early on Sunday, July 28 to catch the start of Rivera’s run in Paris. The women’s team qualifiers begin at 3:30 a.m. ET. Something tells us this burgeoning star will be worth the extra cups of coffee to see live.
Get ready for some amazing content this summer in Paris.
The men’s Olympic gymnastics team was set on Saturday night as the field was narrowed down to the five men who will compete for Team U.S.A. Frederick Richard, a 20-year-old from Stoughton, Massachusetts, was the first to officially make the squad as he finished atop the standings after the two-day U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
Richard also finished top-three in three events — first on high bar, second on parallel bars and third on floor exercise — but he’s not only a gymnast. The reigning world all-around bronze medalist has quite the presence on social media.
Using the handle @FrederickFlips, Richard has over 660,000 followers on TikTok and shares fun videos of his training and performances.
Simone Biles is the GOAT. The 24-year-old from Columbus, Ohio has won so many medals in so many big events all over the world that it’s impossible to think of the sport of gymnastics and not have her name come to your mind first.
But what she today in Tokyo might have been one of her most impressive moves and it had nothing to do with winning a medal but had everything to do with protecting her mental health.
Biles pulled out of the team Olympics finals after performing on the vault. She spent the rest of the competition cheering on her teammates and then afterward explained why she took herself out of the competition:
Biles says candidly: "Today has been really stressful." Team had a morning workout, and then during the 5 1/2 hour wait, said she was shaking, "never felt like this before…Once I came out here, I was like, no the mental is not there. I had to let the girls do it."
“And it's been really stressful this Olympic Games, I think, just as a whole, not having an audience there are a lot of different variables going into it. It's been a long week it's been a long Olympic process it's been a long year.” — #SimoneBiles#Olympics
Simone Biles: "I'm sorry. I love you guys, but you're gonna be just fine."
"You guys have trained your whole entire life for this, it's fine. I've been to an Olympics, I'll be fine. This is your first — you go out there and kick ass, okay?" pic.twitter.com/r2RxWQ2Dsy
She also spoke with the media following the event:
One of the most remarkable mixed zone press conferences I’ve known. In which Simone Biles described pulling out of tonight’s team event because she had to put her mental health first. Says she was inspired by Naomi Osaka among others #Olympics#ArtisticGymnasticspic.twitter.com/p3Rli5S7J0
There are going to be idiots out there bashing Biles for pulling out of the event to protect her mental health. Don’t listen to those idiots. Stress and anxiety can be crippling things and I can’t imagine what that must feel like for someone who has such high expectations placed on her and has millions of people watching her every move.
Instead, listen to the people who showered her with love. Because there were plenty of people who did just that:
Simone Biles is back at the Olympics doing Simone Biles things and we’re all very lucky to be able to watch the most incredible gymnast of all time doing her thing in Tokyo.
On Sunday she competed with her team in the qualifying rounds and while they finished behind Russia, the team is still very much in contention to win the gold medal during the team finals on Tuesday.
Biles said on Instagram on Sunday that she feels a lot of pressure in these Olympics, which is totally understandable. I can’t imagine what it’s like to have such high expectations from everyone who will be watching her compete.
So let’s get away from that pressure and look at this amazing time-lapse photo that was taken of her yesterday:
