Frederick Richard wins first U.S. all-around title in Phoenix; by 2.051 points ahead of Wiskus

2026 U.S. Gymnastics Championships: Frederick Richard wins his first U.S. all-around title in Phoenix

The Paris 2024 Olympic team bronze medallist broke through for his first national all-around crown at last, with 19-year-old Danila Leykin a breakout bronze medallist.

Frederick Richard is finally a U.S. all-around champion.

The Paris 2024 Olympic team bronze medallist captured his first all-around national title Saturday (8 August) at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Phoenix, Arizona.

Across two days of competition, he totalled 170.015 , ahead of Tokyo 2020 Olympian Shane Wiskus ( 167.964 ). Danila Leykin rounded out the top three with a 167.001 total.

“It feels good,” Richard said. “It’s one of those things that was on the list of what I hadn’t done. I needed to prove that I can win a U.S. championship.”

Richard is no stranger to all-around success, with a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships, three NCAA titles and a 15th-place finish at the Olympics two years ago.

But until Saturday, he had never found the top step of the podium at his national championships, despite having landed on it three straight years: bronze in 2023, silver in 2024 and 2025.

He dazzled on high bar, earning a massive 15.005 for a daredevil routine. He added a 14.458 on parallel bars, a 14.158 on floor exercise and 14.663 on pommel horse.

Richard, 22, wrapped his campaign with a 13.905 on still rings before scoring 13.500 on his handspring double front vault in the final rotation.

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Frederick Richard: “It’s just me versus me”

Richard did not walk into the final day thinking about Wiskus or Leykin.

“I walked in knowing I’m definitely good enough to win this competition,” he said. “It’s not really a competition of me or someone else. It’s just me versus me. I made mistakes day one that I knew I could fix, hitting high bar better, hitting pommels better.”

He is not treating the title as an arrival, either.

Richard says he sits within a point of the top difficulty scores from the Chinese and Japanese contenders with a vault upgrade in the works to further close the gap.

“Everything I’m doing in the gym is working,” he said. “My coaches, my teammates, everything is lined up. I’m on the right track.”

For Richard, the winning is the point.

“The number one trait of the most successful athletes is winning,” he said. “I want to keep winning.”

Shane Wiskus: “I’m not really afraid of anything.”

Wiskus came to Phoenix without fear.

A year away to recover from shoulder surgery and rediscover his love for the sport, and the perspective that came with missing the Paris 2024 team, had shown him the sun would rise no matter what.

“I’ve had plenty of bad competitions and been just fine after. I’ve had plenty of great competitions and also been fine after,” he said before competition this week. “I’m not really afraid of anything.”

That freedom showed over both nights. Wiskus hit all 12 of his routines, his highlight coming on parallel bars, where he finished fourth overall.

A spot on the world team - set to be announced late Saturday - would put him back on the global stage for the first time since the Olympics, a goal he keeps written in his notebook.

“Putting 12 routines together, competing the way that you trained, having that moment after the routine to celebrate, those are the feelings I’m chasing,” he said. “Those are the feelings that I know I’ll never get anywhere else except for gymnastics.”

Danila Leykin: “I’ve got nothing to lose, and everything’s a gain.”

The bronze medal is a breakout for Leykin, 19 and in his first season as a senior. In 2025, he won three medals at the Junior World Championships and finished fourth in the all-around, the best ever by an American man.

He had hoped to chase Richard down, coming into the second day less than two tenths back. And for a moment he did, posting a 14.963 on high bar in the opening rotation to take the lead.

Leykin put his hands down on his opening full-twisting double layout and fell on his second pass, and an 11.650 on floor dropped him three points back of Richard.

“I got a little lost in the air on that first pass,” he said. “I was a little too comfortable. I went for it thinking I was fine, and then I was like, ‘Oh, I’m on the floor.’”

He rebounded with a 14.502 on pommel horse to push back into podium contention, turning the fall into fuel.

“It’s pretty important in gymnastics to be able to regroup,” he said. “I just forget about it. Maybe get a little angry, and use it a little bit to my advantage.”

Leykin had come to Phoenix telling himself he had nothing to lose.

“I kept practicing my gratitude, being thankful for the opportunity of even having a chance,” he said. “I’ve got nothing to lose, and everything’s a gain.”

Finishing second behind Richard on day one made it feel real.

“These dreams are slowly becoming a reality,” he said. “Now I see, oh, it’s really possible. We’re in the mix.”