It’s been a long road for PRTC resident athlete Richard Perry. After graduating with All-American honors from Bloomsburg University, Richard embarked on a coaching career at American University while simultaneously training for his own Olympic aspirations.

With only medial results, Richard came to the realization that he must commit to training full-time if he were to have a chance of meeting his lofty goals. Now entering his second year at the PRTC, his decision is beginning to pay off in spades.

Per Richard, “Once I realized that I couldn’t give both training and coaching the amount of time needed to being the best, I had to step down and focus on training. The window for competing is small and with every day it shuts a little more.”

Following Richard’s 7th place finish at last year’s US Open, Richard has made steady progress. He placed 3rd at the Bill Farrell Open and 5th at this year’s US Open. Richard then traveled to Minsk, Belarus to compete the highly competitive Medved Grand Prix, where he was a Silver medalist. Richard’s path to the finals included a decisive 9-1 win in the semis over home country favorite Mahamedau who had beaten defending US Open Champion Kyle Dake in the previous round. Richard’s Silver Medal finish was the highest American finish at the tournament.

With an Olympic Trials spot locked up, Richard is now in final preparations for a run to represent the USA in Rio. “Richard is progressing extremely well and is on the right track to break through at the 2016 Olympic trials,” says PRTC President, Roger Reina.

The PRTC would like to congratulate Richard on his recent success and wishes him the best at the Trials.