Stephen Nedoroscik

[5][6] Nedoroscik is of Polish and Slovak descent;[7] his paternal great-grandparents emigrated from present-day Haligovce and Veľká Lesná, Slovakia.

[8] Nedoroscik was born with strabismus and coloboma, causing him to have a lack of depth perception and a high sensitivity to light.

[12] Nedoroscik studied electro-mechanical engineering at Worcester Technical High School and was part of its robotics automation technology program.

[16] Nedoroscik began competing for the Penn State Nittany Lions in 2017 and became the NCAA National Champion on the pommel horse during his freshman season.

At the 2018 NCAA National Championships, Nedoroscik defended his pommel horse title and helped Penn State finish sixth as a team.

In early 2020, Nedoroscik competed at the Melbourne World Cup and won gold on the pommel horse, his first international medal.

[36] At the 2021 World Championships, Nedoroscik qualified to the pommel horse final in second place, behind Weng Hao of China.

This was the United States' first world title on pommel horse and the first gold medal won by an American male artistic gymnast since 2011.

[39] In October, Nedoroscik was named to the team to compete at the 2022 World Championships alongside Brody Malone, Asher Hong, Colt Walker, and Donnell Whittenburg.

In February, Nedoroscik competed at the Winter Cup; he placed third on pommel horse behind Ian Skirkey and Ignacio Yockers.

[43] The following day, he was named to the team to compete at the Pan American Games taking place in late October alongside Donnell Whittenburg, Colt Walker, Shane Wiskus (later replaced by Curran Phillips), and Cameron Bock.

[46] In March 2024, Nedoroscik competed at the Baku World Cup, where he co-won gold on pommel horse alongside Lee Chih-kai.

During qualifications at the Olympic Games, Nedoroscik qualified for the pommel horse final in second place, behind Rhys McClenaghan.

Due to this fifth-place ranking, the United States started the team final competing on still rings and would finish on pommel horse.

Nedoroscik garnered significant media attention for his performances in the 2024 Summer Olympics and has been dubbed "The Specialist"[54] and "Pommel Horse Guy".

[57][58] After returning home from the Olympics, Nedoroscik received a virtual greeting from actor David Corenswet, who stars as the eponymous character in Superman (2025), on behalf of non-profit Gold Meets Golden and its partner Samsung.

[63] He also appeared as a co-presenter with Olympians Caeleb Dressel and Ilona Maher, Paralympian Ezra Frech, and actors Brendan Hunt and Jane Lynch, at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards.

[64] Nedoroscik was initially set to perform in the 2024 Gold Over America Tour,[65] but withdrew to participate in season 33 of Dancing with the Stars.

[75] During broadcast competitions and appearances, Nedoroscik sends non-verbal greetings to his loved ones by gently tugging on his right ear.

[5] It originated as a signal to his grandfather and shares similarities to Carol Burnett's signature gesture at the end of every episode of her self-titled television series.

"[13] Outside of gymnastics, Nedoroscik enjoys playing chess, video games—particularly Rocket League—solving sudoku, and the Rubik's Cube; for the latter, he has a personal record of 8.664 seconds.

Nedoroscik and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games