Despite a pair of score reductions, Fred Richard holds the men's all-around lead at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships after the first half of the competition was held on Thursday in Phoenix.
Richard, a 22-year-old from the University of Michigan, owns a score of 84.326 points through six routines. Danila Leykin, 19, sits in second place at 84.173, with Shane Wiskus third at 83.207.
A pair of Stanford gymnasts, Cooper Kim (82.018) and Taylor Burkhart (81.867), sit in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Richard received a three-10ths-of-a-point penalty for compression leggings instead of stirrup pants. He was docked the same amount after he didn't salute in the proper direction after his pommel horse dismount.
Richard won a team Olympic bronze medal as part of the U.S. squad in 2024 at Paris, but he is chasing his first national championship.
"It's great I'm in first place, it (the training) is showing, but I still think I have a lot more to show on day two," he told NBC Sports.
He added, "Everybody says you haven't won U.S. Championships yet. My coaches (at Michigan) say, 'You haven't won a U.S. Championships,' and so I think it's a big piece of the puzzle."
On Thursday, Richard recorded the top score on the floor exercise (14.758). Kim was second at 14.450.
Leykin had the second-best mark on the horizontal bar, 14.608, trailing only Kim's 15.638.
Stephen Nedoroscik, who became an internet sensation known as "Pommel Horse Guy" after taking Olympic bronze in the event in Paris, sits in second in his specialty event. His 14.958 score is behind only the 15.641 of Air Force's Patrick Hoopes.
--Field Level Media
