PARIS — Stephen Nedoroscik, the glasses-wearing, Rubik’s cube-solving, overnight sensation after clinching the United States’ first medal in the team event here proved he was no one-hit wonder.
On Saturday he won a medal all of his own, a bronze in the individual pommel horse to cap a whirlwind week in Paris.
Ireland’s Rhys McClenaghan took gold with a 15.533 followed by Kazakhstan’s Nariman Kurbanov at 15.433 for silver.
Nedoroscik recorded a 15.300, earning a 6.4 for difficulty and 8.9 for execution. It was better than the 15.200 he put up in qualifying.
As his score flashed across the Bercy Arena video board, Nedoroscik, back wearing his trademark rims, hugged McClenaghan and the two spoke about competing again at the 2028 Olympics in LA. “Run it back,” Nedoroscik said with a smile.
Nedoroscik shot to instant fame in an otherwise obscure sport when he served as the closer for the Americans to win bronze in the team event for the first time since 2008. Nedoroscik is a pommel specialist and it was the final rotation of the team competition. Cameras caught him in a possible nap during the event and then his glasses became iconic.
Nedoroscik suffers from an eye condition that leaves his pupils permanently dilated, requiring him to wear glasses and prohibiting him from driving a car right now. The 25-year-old from Massachusetts, who studied engineering while earning All-American honors at Penn State, eschews sports goggles.
Instead he takes the glasses off just before competition.
“I don’t think I use my eyes on pommel horse; it’s all feeling,” he explained this week. “I see with my hands.”
The pommel is a unique skill in men’s gymnastics. Where other events favor acrobatics or pure athleticism, the pommel is more about meticulous, technical training. It often appeals to academics or engineers, such as Nedoroscik, who, with two bronze medals, will leave Paris as one of America’s most popular Olympians.
Not bad for a pommel specialist.