Richard, Sutherland Named U-M Athletes of the Year
6/23/2025 1:00:00 PM | General, Men's Gymnastics, Women's Track & Field
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan Athletics Department announced Monday (June 23) that Fred Richard (men's gymnastics) and Savannah Sutherland (women's track and field) have been named the 2024-25 U-M Athletes of the Year.
Richard is the fifth men's gymnast to earn the honor and the first since Sam Mikulak in 2011. Sutherland's win marks the 10th time a women's track athlete has earned the department's top honor and the first since Tiffany Ofili repeated in 2008 and 2009.
Both student-athletes are eligible to be named Big Ten Conference Athletes of the Year, the winners of which are determined by a media vote. The University of Michigan Athlete of the Year Award was first presented in 1982.
Fred Richard (Men's Gymnastics)
Richard is the department's male honoree after leading Michigan to the 2025 NCAA championship and Big Ten championship. He won the 2025 NCAA all-around title, marking his second in the event and fourth overall individual national championship of his career.
Leading Michigan to its seventh national championship in program history and fifth straight Big Ten championship, Richard was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Championships for the third straight season and to the All-Big Ten first team. He earned All-America honors in the all-around and all six events, marking the first time in NCAA history a men's gymnast has earned seven All-America citations in a single season.
He was crowned Big Ten all-around champion for the third straight year, the first Wolverine to win three straight since Rick McCurdy from 1969-71. A three-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Week this past season, he earned Gymnast of the Week honors from the College Gymnastics Association on March 27.
A member of the USA Gymnastics National Senior Team, he earned a runner-up finish in the all-around at the 2024 U.S. Championships (170.250). He won the floor exercise title (29.500), took sixth on still rings (28.300) and second on high bar (28.800).
He also represented Team USA at the 2024 Olympics, helping lead the team to a bronze medal for the first time since 2008 and finishing 15th in the all-around finals.
Savannah Sutherland (Women's Track and Field)
Sutherland is the department's female Athlete of the Year after capping her career with a pair of national championships in the 400-meter hurdles (2023, 2025). She is just the third Wolverine in program history to win multiple NCAA individual titles. Sutherland was named the 2025 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Women's Track Athlete of the Year, marking her third straight year earning the honor.
Sutherland captured her second national title in the 400-meter hurdles and her third straight top-two finish at the NCAA Championships on June 14. She ran a personal-best 52.46 seconds to finish 2.20 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher and set five records — the NCAA record, NCAA Championship meet record, Big Ten record, Michigan program record and Canadian national record. She earned first team All-America honors for her performance.
The senior is now just the second runner in NCAA history to break 53 seconds, with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone setting the previous collegiate record of 52.75 in 2018. The time ranks No. 9 in the world on the all-time performance list and is tied for the second-fastest time in the world this season.
Sutherland also ran the second leg of the 4x400-meter relay at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, clocking 50.71 for the fastest second leg and second-fastest split of the race. The relay squad finished 19th overall with a time of 3:33.75 to earn All-America honorable mention.
The Borden, Saskatchewan, native capped an impressive career in her final season for the Maize and Blue, winning her third straight Big Ten title in the 400-meter hurdles before setting the NCAA East First Round meet record (54.39) for the second consecutive year. She also helped set the program record in the 4x400-meter relay twice this season and earned a third-place finish at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships.
In the indoor season, Sutherland set a Canadian and program record with her time of 51.23 in the 400-meter dash at the NCAA DI Indoor Championships, placing fourth for her highest career finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She won the Big Ten 400-meter indoor title for the second straight year on March 1 after setting the program 200-meter record (23.26).
Sutherland was named Regional Athlete of the Year for the Great Lakes Region for both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
She also represented Canada at the 2024 Olympics, finishing seventh (53.88) in the 400-meter hurdle finals -- the first Canadian to reach the event finals since 1996 -- and sixth in the 4x400-meter relay (3:22.01).
Players Mentioned
