Who is Stephen Nedoroscik? All about the only American male gymnast who qualified for individual event finals at the Paris Olympics

By Janhavi Shinde

Modified Jul 29, 2024 16:06 GMT

Stephen Nedoroscik is an American artistic gymnast, who recently secured the spot to compete in the finals of the men's pommel horse at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He became the only American male gymnast to secure a spot for the final in any individual apparatus event.

Nedoroscik, who competes in only pommel horse displayed a spectacular performance in the qualifying event of his debut Games. The 25-year-old scored a total of 15.200 points to tie with Rhys McClenaghan for first place in the qualifying round in Subdivision 1, on Saturday 27 July 2024. He was followed by Max Whitlock, who scored 15.166 points.

Stephen Nedoroscik's NCAA career

Stephen Nedoroscik of Team United States competes on the pommel horse during the Artistic Gymnastics Men's Qualification at the 2024 Paris Olympics in France. (Photo by Getty Images)

After recognizing his struggle with other apparatuses during high school, Stephen Nedoroscik decided to divert his focus and master the pommel horse. Nedoroscik commenced his collegiate journey in 2017, competing for Penn State Nittany Lions men's gymnastics team, from which he pursued an electrical engineering degree.

In his debut year at the collegiate level, he earned the title of national champion in the pommel horse, as a freshman. A year later, he successfully defended his NCAA Championships title in the pommel horse, leading the Penn State team to settle in sixth place as a team.

In 2019, he again led the team to sixth place by securing second place in his pet event. His senior year at the NCAA was hindered by COVID-19. For his exceptional collegiate career, he was honored with the Nissen Emery Award, the highest a male gymnast can receive in the collegiate circuit.

Stephen Nedoroscik's renowned goggles

Stephen Nedoroscik is competing in his first Olympics at the 2024 Games.

Widely known for competing with goggles that were initially gifted to him by Penn State teammate Ben Cooperman, Nedoroscik earned the spot to compete with the national team in 2019.

He was gifted those goggles as a Secret Santa prank. Being a sport, Nedoroscik donned them during several meets and displayed stunning performances. He made his international debut at the 2019 World Cup in Doha. At the 2021 World Championships, he clinched a gold medal in the pommel horse after defeating China's Weng Hao and Kazuma Kaya.

He became the first American male gymnast to secure a world title in the event and was the first American male gymnast to secure a gold medal at the Champiosnhips since 2011.

"I worked my whole life up to those 45 seconds" - Stephen Nedoroscik on qualifying for the final round

Nedoroscik became the only American male gymnast to clinch a berth for the final round in any individual apparatus event after defeating the two-time Olympic gold medalist of the event Max Whitlock. While speaking to AP News, he expressed his delight in securing the recent feat.

“It went really well today, I handled the nerves very well,” Nedoroscik said. “I worked my whole life up to those 45 seconds."

"This is just another day of doing the gymnastics. Sure it’s the biggest stage in the world. It only happens once every four years, but at the same time I’m putting chalk on my hands and doing the horse for the team, it’s nothing different.”

Nedoroscik will be seen competing in the final round of the pommel horse on August 3, 2024, at 17:16, according to local time.