Fred Richard wins world floor gold by 0.033 points
Fred Richard won the men’s floor exercise world title in Rotterdam with 14.633 points, beating defending champion Jake Jarman by 0.033. Artem Dolgopyat took bronze. Richard’s precise execution and landing bonus overcame a lower difficulty value than Jarman’s. The victory made him the first American man to win the world floor title since Paul Hamm in 2003.
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Richard edges Jarman for floor gold
American gymnast Fred Richard won the men’s floor exercise final at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. His 14.633 points put him ahead of defending champion Jake Jarman of Great Britain on 14.600 and Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat on 14.466. The gap between gold and silver was 0.033 points. Richard became the first American man to win this world title since Paul Hamm in 2003; the country’s previous world medal on floor had come through Yul Moldauer in 2017.[1], [2]
Secure landings overcome the difficulty gap
Richard’s routine had a difficulty value of 5.7, the lowest starting difficulty among the finalists, compared with Jarman’s 6.3. His execution score was 8.833, and he received a further 0.1 for a stuck landing. He secured nearly all his landings during the routine, combining the lower starting difficulty with an execution mark just below 9.0 points. The difficulty value, execution mark and landing bonus together formed his winning total of 14.633, despite Jarman having the higher starting difficulty for his routine. The competition took place at Rotterdam’s Ahoy venue. Forbes described the landing bonus as decisive in the narrow winning margin. Dolgopyat remained behind Richard and Jarman in the final medal order.[1], [2]
World gold follows earlier setbacks in Rotterdam
Richard had placed 12th in the individual all-around earlier at these championships, while the United States men’s team finished sixth. He returned to win an apparatus final after those results. The University of Michigan gymnast arrived in Rotterdam as the US champion after missing selection for the 2025 world championship team. In the spring, he had publicly set a goal of leaving the worlds with gold. He reiterated his ambitions in an August interview with NBC Sports, saying he did not want a secondary role at the competition. The floor victory raised his career world championship medal total to three.[2]
Saturday’s results, including Richard’s gold, brought the United States championship medal total to six. The federation listed two golds, two silvers and two bronzes.[1]
