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Paris Olympics: Get to know Stephen Nedoroscik, the glasses-wearing pommel horse hero of USA men's gymnastics

jason owens
Staff writer
·5 min read

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The U.S. men jumped from fifth in qualifying to secure the bronze medal in the men's team gymnastics final on Monday, a landmark result for a program that hadn't medaled in the Olympics since 2008.

Stephen Nedoroscik is a big reason why. The pommel horse specialist took his turn with USA sitting in bronze-medal position in the team's final rotation of the competition. He delivered a nearly flawless routine that secured USA's highest score on the apparatus and ensured that the bronze was theirs.

Nedoroscik recounted the moment while rewatching his routine with NBC's Mike Tirico alongside his teammates Brody Malone, Asher Hong, Paul Juda and Frederick Richard.

"Going up to pommel horse, last guy up in the whole competition, I had a good feeling that our team was in a great spot. I just knew I had to go up there and do my job.

"Right here I was super worried in my routine, and I was like let's just get it done, let's go for it, right here. If I put this dismount up, Team USA gets a medal. I think you can see it right away when I land. Dude, goosebumps right now, man. That's the best moment of my life."

Between that routine and that interview, Nedoroscik made his imprint as a U.S. hero of the Paris Olympics.

Nedoroscik didn't make Team USA because of his abilities on the vault, the rings, the parallel bar, the high bar or in the floor routine. He was selected because he's one of the best in the world at doing one thing — perform on the pommel horse.

Nedoroscik won two NCAA championships and a silver medal on pommel horse while competing for Penn State. He won a gold medal for Team USA in the event at the 2021 World Championships. His 14.866 score on Tuesday was tied for the second best of the day in the team finals behind Great Britain's Max Whitlock.

It was the only event in which he competed. He waited through the entire competition for his turn in USA's final rotation. There, he delivered. He'll have a chance to do so again in the pommel horse event final after finishing second in qualifying with a 15.200.

Like, really good.

Nedoroscik relaxes by solving Rubik's Cubes. Like any Rubik's Cube savant, it's not a matter for Nedoroscik of if he solves it, but how long it takes him to do so. He's very fast.

Prior to Monday's gymnastics final, Nedoroscik posted an image of a Rubik's Cube on Instagram next to a tablet with a time displayed: 9.321 seconds.

"Good omen," Nedoroscik wrote.

Instagram/Stephen_Nedoroscik
Instagram/Stephen_Nedoroscik

Good omen, indeed.

According to his TikTok bio, Nedoroscik's personal best time at Rubik's Cube is 8.664 seconds. Just in case you were wondering.

Nedoroscik became quickly known on Monday not just because of his gymnastics routine — but because of his distinct look featuring fashionable glasses.

He revealed a potential reason for those glasses on TikTok. He has strabismus, which is basically medical terminology for having crossed eyes. He sent a call out for doctors on TikTok asking for information on the diagnosis and demonstrated his experience of the condition for his followers.

It's not clear if he received any satisfying responses.

The strabismus doesn't appear to bother him too much. It certainly didn't hinder him on Monday when he competed without the use of goggles or glasses. But he proudly rocked his glasses on the podium and while celebrating with his teammates.

Stephen Nedoroscik, right, celebrates winning a bronze medal with teammates Brody Malone, Asher Hong, Frederick Richard and Paul Juda (James Lang/Reuters)
Stephen Nedoroscik, right, celebrates winning a bronze medal with teammates Brody Malone, Asher Hong, Frederick Richard and Paul Juda (James Lang/Reuters)

To a lot of gymnastics observers, Nedoroscik didn't belong on USA's Olympics team.

To be fair, a one-event specialist in a six-event competition with five-man teams doesn't sound at a glance like the best fit. Nedoroscik has heard the criticism of the decision.

“I was completely aware of it,” Nedoroscik told the Washington Post. “I really wanted to make the Olympic team, and I knew that there was going to be backlash to it. I do one event compared to these guys that are phenomenal all-arounders. And I am a phenomenal horse guy. But it’s hard to fit on a five-guy team.”

But Nedoroscik's strength is a relative weakness of the rest of Team USA. In a competition where Nedoroscik wasn't required to compete on any of his weaker events, the math added up. Nedoroscik's pommel horse score had the potential to raise the U.S. men onto the podium. It was a situation that required his teammates to consistently do their jobs on the other events.

They all met the moment and have the hardware now to show for it. And on Saturday, Nedoroscik is a favorite to pick up additional hardware in the pommel horse final.