Editor’s note: Olympic athletes competing in the marquee sports of gymnastics, swimming and track and field train for one shot at gold every four years with little margin for error. The Associated Press followed several of those athletes during their preparations for the Paris Games, including Frederick Richard.
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All the rites of passage for a teenager were available to Frederick Richard while growing up in the Boston suburbs.
Football games. Dances. Parties. Hanging out.
Texts would pop into his phone regularly to see if he was up for doing something. And Richard’s response was almost always some version of “thanks, but not today. I’ve got practice.”