Affectionately known as “pommel horse guy,” viral Olympic sensation Stephen Nedoroscik will compete once more for the U.S.’ last chance at a men’s gymnastics medal.
On Saturday, Nedoroscik will once again take off his glasses and show off his skill in the one event he specializes in.
Through all-around qualifications and the team final, Nedoroscik only competed in Paris in the one event. But his skill came in clutch when the men needed one final stellar performance on pommel horse to secure their first team medal in the sport in more than 15 years.
It’s an event that has long been sore spot for U.S. gymnasts.
The 2012 Olympic team topped qualifying. Then they led off on pommel horse in the finals and saw their medal hopes vanish one mistake at a time.
But the self-described “nerdy” gymnast came through for his teammates, and now will have his chance to do it for himself and his country.
Nedoroscik will soar into the event finals Saturday with a chance to put another medal in his carry-on before he heads home. His 15.200 qualifying score tied Ireland’s Rhys McClenaghan for the tops among the eight finalists.
Here’s what to know:
Who is Stephen Nedoroscik?
The bespectacled gymnast is known for his specialty skills in pommel horse, but he’s more than his gymnastics.
The 25-year-old studies electrical engineering at Penn State University, which he attends alongside his girlfriend Tess McCracken.
He loves solving Rubik’s Cubes and playing chess, sudoku and video games.
Pommel horse has always been his favorite event.
Though he started off competing in all six events, around the age of 11 or 12 he began to train on pommel horse more intensely. At age 15, his dad bought an old pommel horse from auction and that only fueled his passion.
In October 2021, he broke a bone in his left hand while competing at the 2021 World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan, and went on to win the world title on pommel horse. Afterwards, he had to wear a cast for 10 weeks.
Why is he going viral?
Nedoroscik has been the subject of numerous memes and social media chatter following his Paris performance.
He’s been likened to Clark Kent as he takes off his glasses and becomes a superpower on the pommel horse.
He’s been dubbed “pommel horse guy” to many on social media.
Is Nedoroscik’s vision bad? What does he see when he’s competing?
Nedoroscik became known for his glasses during the Games, but he takes them off when he competes on the pommel horse.
So what does he see when he competed?
“It’s not necessarily clear, but the thing about pommel horse is if I keep them on, they’re gonna fly somewhere,” Nedoroscik told TODAY about his preference to take off his glasses.
“When I go up on the pommel horse, it’s all about feeling the equipment. I don’t even really see when I’m doing my gymnastics. It’s all in the hands — I can feel everything.”
Nedoroscik revealed on TikTok that he has crossed eyes — or strabismus, which is why he wears glasses.
According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the condition in adulthood “is when your eyes are not lined up properly and they point in different directions.”
“One eye may look straight ahead while the other eye turns in, out, up, or down. The misalignment can shift from one eye to the other,” the agency states.
He also has a genetic condition known as coloboma, which, according to the National Eye Institute, means some of the tissue that makes up the eye was missing at birth. The condition makes him sensitive to light.
He does occassionally also wear sports goggles when competing, but he said that’s more for superstitious reasons, not necessarily to help him see.
Why is pommel horse so challenging?
Nedoroscik said the history of the event is one of the reasons he gravitated toward pommels. Another is the fact that it requires many things — stamina, strength and creativity chief among them — that he has in spades, particularly that last one.
He describes himself as a “late bloomer” on the event. Those early struggles only helped him press forward.
“Running into trouble on the apparatus early on taught me how to fight, how to stay on, how to really go for that routine,” he said. “And I think that that has stuck with me throughout.”
Unlike other events, which are painstakingly laid out and practiced on end for months if not years, pommel horse allows gymnasts to color outside the lines and make things up as they go on. Miss an element here? Well, maybe you can make it up trying something else later in the routine.
He says the end result is the feeling of “flying through the air,” though it’s more akin to levitation.