Stephen Nedoroscik explains his eye conditions

2024-08-01 18:35:02

Stephen Nedoroscik became a household name overnight after his career-defining pommel horse routine in the men’s gymnastics team final at the Paris Olympics on Monday. Nedoroscik, Team USA’s pommel horse specialist, captured the spotlight when he was the last competitor in the team event and his perfectly executed routine secured a score of 14.866. His high score brought the U.S. men to their first Olympic medal in 16 years — a bronze medal.The pommel horse routine went viral on multiple social media platforms — garnering 1.2 million views on YouTube and over 735,000 likes on TikTok as of Wednesday afternoon, he has become a breakout star of the Paris Olympics. However, it’s not just Nedoroscik’s talent on the pommel horse that makes him so interesting to fans — he has a signature look with his thick-framed glasses, which he wears until just seconds before he pulls himself onto the pommel horse. The moment when the 25-year-old from Worcester, Massachusetts, took his glasses off to command the Olympic stage has created many comparisons between the superhero persona Clark Kent, who rips off his glasses and becomes Superman.Most athletes who need glasses usually opt to wear contact lenses, but Nedoroscik has been open about how he lives with two different eye conditions, including one that creates eye sensitivity, which can make wearing contacts uncomfortable.Born with strabismus and coloboma, Nedoroscik used to compete with goggles as an NCAA gymnast at Penn State but now chooses to compete with no eyewear at all. What is strabismus? Strabismus, commonly known as crossed eyes, is a condition where the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object. According to the Cleveland Clinic, this misalignment can cause each eye to focus on different points, leading to double vision or poor depth perception. The condition is common in children, leading to eye muscle surgery, but can be developed in adulthood as well.Strabismus can result from muscle imbalance, neurological issues or genetic factors. Common treatments include corrective glasses, eye exercises or surgery.Back in 2022, Nedoroscik made a TikTok explaining his symptoms and showing his fans how his eyes can cross and switch dominance, but asking for help from eye doctors because he wasn’t sure why his eyes behaved that way. Two days ago, after new fans started flooding his TikTok page, he posted a comment on the two-year-old video, saying he had confirmed that he has strabismus. What is coloboma?According to the National Eye Institute, coloboma is an eye condition that people are born with. It occurs when part of the tissue that makes up the eye is missing in one or both eyes.This condition can cause visual impairments ranging from minor vision loss to significant blindness, depending on the size and location of the defect. Coloboma is often visible as a keyhole-shaped pupil if it affects the iris. While there is no cure, treatments focus on managing symptoms and maximizing visual function through corrective lenses or other supportive measures.How does his vision impact his gymnastics?At this point, it doesn’t. In an interview with TODAY, Nedoroscik said his skills are all in his hands. “I don’t even really see when I’m doing my gymnastics,” he said. “It’s all in the hands. I can feel everything.” Of the Clark Kent comparisons, Nedoroscik was honored.“I think they’re awesome,” he said in the interview. “I’m representing people that wear glasses well.”What’s next for Nedoroscik?He is set to compete in Paris one more time, in the individual pommel horse event on Saturday, where he is a favorite for a medal.After that, he will have a break before hitting the road with Simone Biles and some of his men’s gymnastics teammates on the Gold Over America tour in September.