PARIS, France — One of the breakout stars of the Paris Olympics will have one more shot at Olympic glory before the gymnastics portion of the games comes to a close.
Stephen Nedoroscik, who became known online as "Pommel Horse Guy," burst on the scene earlier this week as the final athlete to compete for the United States men's gymnastic team. On Monday, he peeled off his glasses, stepped up to his apparatus and helped deliver a long-awaited win for the men's gymnastics team with a routine that scored 14.866.
Now that he has helped the American men claim their first team medal since 2008, he can focus on the individual medal competition in his specialty.
Nedoroscik tied with Irish competitor Rhys McClenaghan during individual event qualifying with a score of 15.200. He is one of eight gymnasts who will compete for medals in the discipline starting at 10:10 a.m. on Saturday. The men's and women's apparatus finals will air on E!.
Nedoroscik is looking to become the eighth American to medal in the event, and the first since 2016. Three of the American medals in the event were earned in 1904, when Americans swept the podium at the St. Louis Olympics.
In an interview with the Associated Press, he describes himself as a “late bloomer” on the event. Those early struggles only helped him press forward.
“Running into trouble on the apparatus early on taught me how to fight, how to stay on, how to really go for that routine,” he said. “And I think that that has stuck with me throughout.”
Unlike other events, which are painstakingly laid out and practiced on end for months if not years, pommel horse allows gymnasts to color outside the lines and make things up as they go on. Miss an element here? Well, maybe you can make it up trying something else later in the routine.
He says the end result is the feeling of “flying through the air," though it's more akin to levitation.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
