Frederick Richard told the world it was coming. Back on May 5, the U.S. gymnast publicly guaranteed that he would win a gold medal at the World Gymnastics Championships five months later. On Saturday, he made good on that promise, winning his first world title on floor exercise in his final routine of the championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The 22-year-old University of Michigan graduate scored 14.633 to edge out Great Britain’s Jake Jarman, the 2025 world champion on floor, by just 33 thousandths of a point. He did it against a field that included the last two Olympic gold medalists in the event.

After the win, Richard said his victory should show people that they can declare themselves champions before the win ever comes, even without knowing how or when it will happen. Holding on to that belief and “believing it every second of every day does pay off,” he said. He added that he planned to sleep with his gold medal.

The title carries real history. Richard is the first American man to win a world title on floor since 2003, when Paul Hamm shared the gold. He is also the first American man since Danell Leyva to win global championship medals in the team, all-around and individual apparatus finals. Leyva won eight career medals at the Olympics and World Championships between 2011 and 2016.

The gold adds to an already impressive résumé for Richard. He earned bronze medals in the all-around and team competitions at the 2023 World Championships and helped Team USA win bronze in the team event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the American men’s first Olympic team medal in 16 years.