When the USA men’s gymnastics team took home the bronze medal in the team competition, snapping a drought of more than a decade without a team medal, Stephen Nedoroscik became a viral sensation. The team’s pommel horse specialist had to wait until the very end of the competition — literally the last competitor in the last rotation — to do his one routine of the night.
After starting out as a cheerleader on the sidelines, hyping up his teammates, Nedoroscik went into prep mode a couple rotations before and every cut to the bespectacled gymnast meditating or going over his routine over and over again was incredible. He ultimately nailed his routine to cement Team USA’s spot on the podium, and became one of the stars of the Olympics so far.
On Saturday, Nedoroscik was back in action in the individual men’s pommel horse competition, following Simone Biles’ gold medal win on women’s vault (with Jade Carey earning bronze). Nedoroscik was not last this time, but was near the end of the line to get on the horse and put forth another terrific routine, earning a 15.300 that pushed him into third place.
Stephen Nedoroscik finishes his pommel horse routine in the final and the crowd goes WILD!
#ParisOlympics
E! and Peacock pic.twitter.com/JbCPmqNJA7
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 3, 2024
The final few competitors failed to surpass him, and everyone’s friend Steve was once again podium bound with his second bronze of the week. While finished just behind gold medalist Rhys McClenaghan of Ireland and silver medalist Nariman Kurbanov of Kazakhstan, he continued to ensure he was one of the beloved figures to emerge from the Paris Games with his performance.