Who is Stephen Nedoroscik, the glasses-wearing, pommel horse specialist for Team USA men’s gymnastics?
The Penn State grad came to the 2024 Paris Olympics with one job. And he nailed it, helping the Americans capture the bronze.
Everyone knows about the excellence of Simone Biles and the U.S. women’s gymnastics team. But on Monday, the men’s team medaled in the team event for the first time since 2008.
Throughout the first five events of the six-event team final, one of the five gymnasts sat on the sidelines, even at one point putting on his backpack and heading to the gym to re-warm up. That gymnast was Penn State’s Stephen Nedoroscik, the Team USA pommel horse specialist.
Pommel horse was the final event for Team USA’s rotation, and Nedoroscik would be the final member of Team USA to attempt his only routine. The NBC broadcast even included a timer for the lead-up to Nedoroscik’s event.
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The announcers struggled to put into words the pressure Nedoroscik was under as Team USA closed in on its first team medal since 2008. They compared him to Adam Viniatieri heading in to make a 65-yard field goal. Others drew their own comparisons.
Nedoroscik hit his routine, to the delight of fans and Team USA, which won the bronze medal.
Here’s everything you need to know about Team USA’s closer …
Who is Stephen Nedoroscik?
Nedoroscik is from Worcester, Mass. The 25-year-old competed at Penn State from 2017-19, winning two NCAA titles on pommel horse in 2017 and 2018 and finishing as the runner-up in 2019. He went on to win the gold medal on pommel horse at the 2021 World Championships. The 2024 Olympics was his first time making Team USA at the Olympic Games.
He majored in electrical engineering at Penn State.
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What’s up with the glasses?
On the sidelines with Team USA, Nedoroscik wore glasses the entire meet. He only took them off when it was his turn to take the pommel horse — which some fans called a Clark Kent moment.
At Penn State, Nedoroscik competed in a pair of goggles he received from a friend in a Secret Santa gift swap, but since graduating, he’s elected to go without glasses or contacts during competition.
How did Brody Malone, Fred Richard, and the rest of the team do?
Nedoroscik was just one competitor, on one event in the team final from Team USA. To get Nedoroscik in position to hit that routine for the bronze medal were Paul Juda, Fred Richard, Asher Hong, and Brody Malone. Richard and Juda both compete for Michigan, and Hong and Malone competed for Stanford.
Team USA was one of the two teams in the event final not to fall on any of their routines, hitting all 18 to win the bronze medal.
Richard put up a team-best 14.833 on high bar and Hong put up a team-best 14.833 on vault, and Malone rebounded from a disappointing showing in qualifying to hit on pommel horse, high bar, parallel bars, vault, and still rings, all helping to pull Team USA from fifth in qualifying to winning the bronze medal in the final, past Ukraine and Great Britain.
Social reactions
People of the internet were quick to fall in love with Nedoroscik’s calm demeanor during the earlier events.
Nedoroscik was the only American men’s gymnast to qualify for an individual event final. He will compete again in the pommel horse on Aug. 3.