At the Paris Olympics, 25-year-old mechanical engineer Stephen Nedoroscik transformed himself into a powerful gymnast, winning two bronze medals for the American team. Unlike other stars, Nedoroscik’s thick-rimmed glasses became the center of attention for Olympic spectators.
“For me, this is still surreal. I wake up in the morning and think, ‘Oh my goodness, I’m a two-time Olympic medalist!’ It’s so cool!” he told the Associated Press. With two medals hanging around his neck, he smiled and marveled at the fame and attention his gymnastics skills have garnered.
The American gymnast clinched a bronze medal in the pommel horse event at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, August 3rd. Just five days earlier, he helped the U.S. men’s gymnastics team secure a bronze medal, marking the first Olympic medal for the U.S. men’s gymnastics team in 16 years.
Throughout his journey, Nedoroscik has captured the hearts of Olympic spectators with his endearing personality and geeky image.
Nedoroscik grabbing attention by taking off his glasses, focusing intently, then leaping onto the pommel horse to perform, has gained widespread attention online with photos and videos going viral. Many have likened Nedoroscik taking off his glasses and diving into the competition to a transformation akin to Superman’s Clark Kent.
When not competing, Nedoroscik always wears thick-rimmed glasses due to a congenital eye tissue deficiency and strabismus. However, removing his glasses for the pommel horse event, even though he can’t see clearly, doesn’t greatly affect his performance.
Fans have expressed gratitude to this Olympic hero for setting an example for kids who need to wear glasses.
Nedoroscik shared, “Just last week, I met someone with the same eye condition as me.” It was a young boy, and his mother said he really wanted to meet Nedoroscik.
“It was really cool to see that. And, you know, he (the young boy) was truly happy,” Nedoroscik said.
Pommel horse is not a strong event for Americans, yet Nedoroscik has achieved remarkable success. He actually started practicing early, enjoying climbing ropes and walls, earning the nickname “Monkey Boy.”
According to Nedoroscik, when he was very young, barely walking, he was already climbing walls at home, which terrified the babysitter. So, shortly after, his parents decided to enroll him in preschool gymnastics.
From “Monkey Boy” to “Pommel Man,” he credits his background in studying engineering at Penn State University for his success.
“You’ll find that many pommel horse experts are engineers or very smart individuals. They are all those nerds,” he said.
How does he compete without glasses? He told TODAY News that even though he can’t see clearly, in pommel horse competitions, “If I kept wearing glasses, who knows where they would fly off to.” Therefore, he chooses to take off his glasses during competitions.
“When I get on the pommel horse, I rely on feeling the equipment. In fact, when I do gymnastics, I can’t even really see clearly, everything is at my fingertips, and I can sense it all.”