Why Team USA’s Pommel Horse Hero Took His Glasses Off Before Clinching Bronze

On Monday, Team USA gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik found himself thrust into the spotlight after helping the men’s team secure a bronze medal at the Olympics thanks in no small part to the glasses that became a hot topic of conversation, and he had a reason for taking them off before his big moment.

American women are perennial contenders in the team gymnastics competition at the Olympics, and that was once again the case when Simone Biles and Co. headed over to Paris as the favorites to take home the gold in 2024.

The men’s team, on the other hand, was hoping to secure its first medal since it got its hands on the bronze in Beijing all the way back in 2008—a possibility that was very much in the cards thanks in no small part to the lack of Russians gymnasts stemming from the absence of a team that’s recently been contending with China and Japan for the top three spots on the podium.

If you tuned into the all-around competition as it was unfolding on Monday, it was hard to ignore the presence of Stephen Nedoroscik, the bespectacled 25-year-old who made a name for himself as a member of the gymnastics team at Penn State before heading down to Sarasota to train alongside fellow Team USA gymnast Brody Malone.

It was fair to wonder why Nedoroscik was at the competition in the first place when you consider it seemed like his primary job was chilling in a chair for hours on end while cheering for his teammates.

However, the pommel horse specialist came off the bench to compete in his one and only event with the bronze on the line and stepped up to bring his squad’s 16-year medal drought to an end.

Nedoroscik channeled his inner Clark Kent by removing the glasses he was wearing the entire day before transforming into Superman on the pommel horse only to put them back right after he sealed the deal.

In the past, Nedoroscik has hopped on the pommel horse rocking a pair of rec specs, but during an interview with The Boston Globe in 2021, he admitted they were more of a good luck charm than anything, saying:

“They were a Secret Santa gift from a teammate.

I wore them during a meet as a joke, and then I did well. We joked that they must have some magic in them, so I kept wearing them.”

Nedoroscik—who was seen squinting at the pommel horse when he approached it after taking his glasses off—suffers from strabismus (a.k.a. crossed eyes) as well as coloboma, a condition involving a hole in the eye stemming from missing tissue that can have an impact on your vision.

As a result, you might wonder why he hopped on the pommel horse without the glasses he relies on in day-to-day life, but he shed some light on the decision while speaking with The Washington Post, noting, “I don’t think I actually use my eyes on pommel horse. It’s all feeling. I see with my hands.”

It’s safe to say the approach worked out for him at the Olympics.