Fred Richard named AAU Sullivan Award Finalist - Gymnastics weekly news

By Scott Bregman
3 min|
Frederick Richard of the United States celebrates
Picture by Naomi Baker/Getty Images

The 2023 World all-around bronze medallist Fred Richard of the United States is among six finalists for the AAU James E. Sullivan Award in the U.S., the organization announced Tuesday (12 March).

The gymnast’s 2023 campaign included winning the NCAA all-around title and helping Team USA to its first men’s team medal in nearly a decade, a bronze, at the 2023 Worlds in Antwerp, in addition to his global all-around third-place finish.

The other nominees are Caitlin Clark, basketball; David Taylor, wrestling**; Emery Lehman,** speed skating; Madisen Skinner, volleyball; and Noah Jaffe, para swimming.

Fans can vote for the winner, once a day, online on the AAU website. Voting closes at 11:59 pm Eastern U.S. time on Tuesday (19 March).

The winner will be announced in New York City in late April.

Four gymnasts have previously won the award: Kurt Thomas, Paul Hamm, Shawn Johnson, and Simone Biles.

“The AAU James E. Sullivan Award has been presented annually since 1930 to the most outstanding athlete at the collegiate, Olympic, or other similar elite level in the United States. In addition to athletic excellence, the award recognizes the qualities of leadership, citizenship, character, and sportsmanship on and off the playing surface,” according to a release from the organization.

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Final weekend of NCAA regular season 2023/23 action on tap

The top five-ranked women’s collegiate gymnastics teams are in action this weekend (15-17 March) in their regular season finales.

It will be each team’s last tune-up ahead of the pressure packed conference championships (Saturday 23 March) and the NCAA Regionals (3-7 April) that will determine the field for the 2024 NCAA Championships later in April.

This weekend, the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners will take on No. 7 Alabama in a dual set to air on ESPN2.

The Sooners have dominated the season, posting the top score in the nation, a 198.675. They will be the odds-on favourites for a third-straight NCAA title in just over a month, having set the standard for nearly an entire decade that has seen them capture at least a share of six of the last 10 championships.

“It’s hard for me to feel satisfied,” head coach K.J. Kindler told The Cut. “I can always find something better to do. I can always find another way to go about things. I have super-high expectations.”

Here’s an overview of top 10 action for the weekend. All times Eastern.

Friday, 15 March

  • 7pm – No. 9 Denver at No. 10 Michigan
  • 8:30pm – North Carolina at No. 2 LSU
  • 9pm – Stanford, Utah State at No. 4 Utah
  • 10pm – San Jose State, UC Davis at No. 3 California

Saturday, 16 March

  • 8:30pm – Auburn, Fisk, No. 6 Kentucky and Ohio State at the Kidney Carey Women’s Gymnastics Championship

Sunday, 17 March

  • 3pm – Centenary College, No. 8 Michigan State at Texas Woman’s
    3:45pm – No. 7 Alabama at No. 1 Oklahoma
    5pm – Sacramento State, Stanford at No. 3 California

From the vault…

This week, we take a look back at the Brazil women's team on the vault and uneven bars during the qualifying round at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The squad, which finished 12th overall, was led by Bruna Leal’s 14.066 on the vault and Daiane dos Santos’ 12.966 on the uneven bars.