2024-08-04 04:30:01
He’s done it again.
Days after wowing crowds in Paris and stunning millions watching around the world, American Stephen Nedoroscik made it to the podium again in the one gymnastics apparatus he came to conquer: pommel horse.
Nedoroscik first captured America’s heart when the U.S. men’s gymnastics team captured the bronze medal in the team final at the Paris Olympics.
The 25-year-old may have been a fan-favorite heading into Saturday’s pommel horse event finals, but he wasn’t guaranteed a medal. His competition was stiff, with Kazakhstan’s Nariman Kurbanov competing first and delivering a whopping score of 15.433, higher than the top qualifying score.
Nedoroscik and Rhys McClenaghan of Ireland had tied with the highest qualifying score of 15.200.
Max Whitlock of Great Britain was up second. The two-time Olympic pommel horse gold medalist had a significant form break during his performance, which ultimately earned him a score of 15.200.
The race for gold intensified after Ireland’s Rhys McClenaghan delivered a shocking routine that shot him to the top. His 15.533 pommel horse run nudged him into first, just before Nedoroscik was next to mount the apparatus.
Nedoroscik stepped up to the pommel horse, glasses off, appearing as calm and collected as before his pommel horse performance in the team competition. The only American to qualify for an individual event, Nedoroscik was the last chance for the men’s team to take home a second medal from France.
All of that pressure wasn’t enough to stop Nedoroscik: he scored a 15.300, enough to take third and his second bronze of these games.
| Country | Name | Score |
| IRL | Rhys McClenaghan | 15.533 |
| KAZ | Nariman Kurbanov | 15.433 |
| USA | Stephen Nedoroscik | 15.300 |
| GGR | Max Whitlock | 15.200 |
| UKR | Oleg Verniaiev | 14.966 |
| JPN | Takaaki Sugino | 14.933 |
| KOR | Woong Hur | 14.300 |
| NED | Loran de Munck | 13.733 |
Here are five things you should know about the “Clark Kent” of men’s gymnastics
“The Pommel Horse Guy”
The world was introduced to Nedoroscik, aka “The Pommel Horse Guy,” when he helped the U.S. men’s gymnastics team win its first Olympic medal in 16 years.
The bespectacled Olympian from Worcester, Massachusetts, sat practically still during the men’s team final waiting his turn to take to the pommel horse, his only event in Paris. When it was time to go, he delivered 45 seconds of brilliance.
He did not miss, delivering “the exclamation point” with a 14.866 to finish off a performance the U.S. men’s program hopes provides serious momentum heading into the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
“I kind of in that moment was like, ‘All right, let’s run it back and let’s go out there and do our thing,’” Nedoroscik said.
The celebration began before his feet even hit the mat on his dismount and Nedoroscik was an instant meme on social media.
He typically competes with a pair of goggles designed to stay on as he swings around the apparatus. Fans have dubbed him the Clark Kent of pommel horse because he takes off his thick-rimmed eyeglasses before his routine, and puts them immediately back on to see.
U.S. gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik says he was happy to be the last gymnast to compete with a medal on the line. Hear from him and his teammates after the U.S. won bronze in the team event.
