Pommel Horse Specialist Stephen Nedoroscik Wins Second Bronze at Paris Games

He’s done it again.

Days after wowing crowds in Paris and stunning millions of viewers around the world, American Stephen Nedoroscik has secured another podium finish in his signature event: the pommel horse.

Nedoroscik first captured America’s heart when the U.S. men’s gymnastics team won the bronze medal in the team final at the Paris Olympics.

Heading into Saturday’s pommel horse event finals, the 25-year-old was a fan favorite, but a medal was not guaranteed. The competition was fierce, with Kazakhstan’s Nariman Kurbanov setting a high bar by scoring 15.433, surpassing the top qualifying score.

Nedoroscik and Ireland’s Rhys McClenaghan had tied with the highest qualifying score of 15.200.

Max Whitlock of Great Britain, a two-time Olympic pommel horse gold medalist, performed second. Despite a significant form break, he managed a score of 15.200.

The race for gold intensified when Ireland’s Rhys McClenaghan delivered a stunning routine, earning a 15.533 and taking the lead just before Nedoroscik’s turn.

Nedoroscik, appearing calm and collected, stepped up to the pommel horse, glasses off. He was the only American to qualify for an individual event and represented the last chance for the men’s team to secure a second medal in France.

Under immense pressure, Nedoroscik scored a 15.300, earning him third place and his second bronze medal of these games.

“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, remained almost motionless during the men’s team final, waiting his turn to take on the pommel horse, his only event in Paris. When his moment came, he delivered 45 seconds of brilliance.

He did not miss, delivering “the exclamation point” with a score of 14.866, capping off a performance that the U.S. men’s program hopes will build serious momentum heading into the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

“In that moment, I thought, ‘All right, let’s run it back and go out there and do our thing,’” Nedoroscik said.

The celebration began before his feet even hit the mat on his dismount, and Nedoroscik quickly became a 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 back on immediately afterward.

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