“That was like my life dream”- Stephen Nedoroscik on "not accepting" becoming an Olympian amid his "transition" since Paris 2024 exploits

By Nancy Singh

Modified Nov 20, 2024 04:50 GMT

Stephen Nedoroscik recently opened up about what being an Olympian meant for him. The gymnast is currently competing at the Dancing With the Stars show.

Nedoroscik came under the limelight after delivering stellar performances at the Paris Olympics, where he helped his team win a bronze medal in the team all-around event by earning 14.866 points. This was the first medal for Team USA in men's gymnastics in 16 years. Along with this, he also won another bronze medal in the pommel horse event.

The 26-year-old recently appeared in Access Hollywood's 'Behind the Easel' with his dance partner, Rylee Arnold, where he opened up about being an Olympian. He revealed that he has not fully accepted that he is an Olympian and spoke about his busy schedule after the Olympics.

"The transition I've had since the Olympics has been nothing short of phenomenal. Everything that's been happening in my life has been something I could have never imagined and amazing," said Stephen Nedoroscik. (4:16 onwards..)

He added:

"I am just taking it one day at a time, and ironically, the fact that I've been keeping up with Dancing With the Stars and so many other opportunities—I don't even think I fully accepted the fact that I'm an Olympian, that is like my life dream, but it's like everything is so back to back in my life right now that I haven't really had a day to just sit back and be like, think about it all because it's all just amazing."

Stephen Nedoroscik spoke about his plans after retiring from gymnastics

Stephen Nedoroscik was recently seen in a conversation with Josh Sherer for Mythical Kitchen, where he spoke about his plans after retirement. Apart from his gymnastics accolades, the gymnast also has a degree in electrical engineering from Penn State University in 2020. He revealed that he wants to make use of his academics when he retires from gymnastics.

"I mean, hopefully, my gymnastics career continues and lasts long and long," Stephen Nedoroscik said. "But I always said I'm gonna stop the sport when I break. Afterward, I'm gonna be an electrical engineer. That's always been the end goal. I got my degree in electrical engineering at Penn State, and it'd be a shame if that went to waste." (26:40 onwards)

Stephen Nedoroscik recently also weighed in on his approach to academic learning. He said that he doesn't go for research papers but prefers YouTube channels for gathering knowledge.

In addition to his Olympic exploits, the gymnast also won a gold medal in pommel horse at the 2021 Kitakyushu World Championships and also won in the team event at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago. The gymnast is a four-time US national champion and a two-time NCAA national champion. He attained his first NCAA National Championship title on pommel horse as a freshman in 2017.