Stephen Nedoroscik might be a one-trick pony — but a perfect one at that.
On Monday afternoon, the American gymnast executed a seamless routine on the pommel horse for a score of 14.866 to help Team USA win bronze in the all-around team competition in Paris on Monday, earning him the “Pommel Horse Guy” moniker on X.
As he finished, the 25-year-old, a self-professed “nerd” who wears goggles, clapped his hands in jubilation and then joined teammates Asher Hong, Paul Juda, Brody Malone and Fred Richard, who hoisted him in the air as he raised his arms to celebrate.
“It went really well today, I handled the nerves very well,” Nedoroscik told reporters in Paris. “I worked my whole life up to those 45 seconds.”
The medal, albeit in third place, was the American team’s first since 2008 in Beijing.
“As soon as Steve hit pommel, I knew it,” said U.S. high performance director Brett McClure.
Team USA edged Great Britain by just over two points — a feat made more impressive by the fact the Americans were in seventh place before Nedoroscik’s routine, but the Massachusetts native quickly flipped the standings.
Hong, Juda, Malone and Richard made few mistakes on the day as they worked through the rings, vault, parallel bars, horizontal bars and floor exercise, setting the stage for Nedoroscik’s heorics.
“We were probably going to medal if I nailed my set, and they were jumping up and down and I was like, ‘I think we did it!’” Nedoroscik said. “And they picked me up and, man, that’s a memory that’s going to live in my head forever.”
As it turns out, Nedoroscik might have had one job in Paris, but he’s one of the most accomplished in the world at it.
Nedoroscik was named the 2024 U.S. pommel horse champion and was also a silver medalist in the 2024 Winter Cup.
Before that, the Sarasota, Fl. resident attended Penn State, where he won two national titles in pommel horse competition and was a four-time All-American — and studied electrical engineering.
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He’s earned a devotion of fans due to his superstitions — “They’re more for show than anything,” he said. “They don’t have prescription in them. We’ll see if they make an appearance in one of the next couple of competitions I have” — and his social media quirks, like his personal record for solving a Rubik’s Cubs: a stunning 8.664 seconds, according to his TikTok bio.
Despite his accolades, Nedoroscik is currently competing in his first Olympic Games.
He was ready for an even bigger spotlight.
“Stephen was in the hardest seat of the entire competition,” McClure said. “Last up on the last event, knowing that if you hit a routine, you’re probably going to medal—and he did it.”
There’s potentially more coming, too.
The pommel horse specialist ranked first in Subdivision 1 of the individual category and will vie for gold on Aug. 3 during the final, having to go up against Great Britain’s Max Whitlock, who has won two straight gold medals in the event.
Nedoroscik’s grand finale proved one of several highlights for the Americans to start the week in Paris.
On the other side of the bar, Team USA’s star-studded women’s squad looks to maintain the podium placement in the all-around competition, which takes place on Tuesday.
Other headliners included ex-NBA player-turned beach volleyball standout Chase Budinger claiming his first win, plus Jagger Eaton winning silver in men’s street skateboarding.