The U.S. Men's Gymnastics team took off for Paris on Thursday. This summer, they are looking for their first gold medal since 1984. Two of the gymnasts have been training at EVO Gymnastics in Sarasota, Florida: one of which is the best pommel horse athlete in the world — Stephen Nedoroscik.
Growing up in Worcester, Massachusetts, Nedoroscik's nickname was "spider monkey." It was fitting for someone who would shimmy up walls to scare his babysitters. By the time he was 4, his parents knew they needed to bring him to a gymnastics gym.
“On the first day there, I climbed a rope all the way to the top," Nedoroscik said while laughing. "After that, they invited me to join the gymnastics team. We accepted it, and that was it.”
The rest, as they say, is history.
Nedoroscik went on to win multiple Massachusetts state championships along with youth national championships. However, it wasn't until his junior year of high school that Stephen truly believed in himself. That is when he won at the Junior Olympics, which opened the floodgates of college recruiting.
“That was definitely the point where I was like, 'OK, I can make something out of this,'" Nedoroscik said.
Nedoroscik went to Penn State and specialized in the pommel horse, an event that takes a different skillset from the others.
"He just has a beautiful circle," Team USA assistant coach and former Olympian Syque Caesar said while describing Stephen's abilities.
Nedoroscik won two NCAA championships while in Happy Valley and had a chance to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. However, when the lights were the brightest, Stephen struggled.
“I messed up," he said. "I felt the pressure and kind of crumbled under it. So not hearing my name wasn’t a surprise, but it was still heartbreaking.”
Failing to make the team in 2020 didn't discourage Nedoroscik, though. Instead, he used it as motivation to work even harder.
“A lot of times in my career, I’ve taken a negative and turned it into a positive," Nedoroscik said. "So I redirected that energy immediately, went back in the gym, and just started grinding.”
The grind has paid off. Stephen is headed to Paris with Team USA for the 2024 Olympics, and while he does, he will be making history. Nedoroscik is the first American gymnast to ever make the Olympic roster as a single-event specialist.
“It’s art when you watch him do pommel horse versus anyone else," Caesar said.
That art is about to be put on full display for the whole world to see. They'll also get to see the fun, quirky side of Stephen, which his team loves.
“While guys during competition might be hanging out or getting focused on the next event, Stephen might be solving a Rubik's cube in the corner," Caesar said. "Those are the quirks that make Stephen who he is.”
Who Stephen Nedoroscik is, is an Olympian — a title that the spider monkey never thought he'd climb to.
“I don’t think anyone in the world can say they’d expect themselves to become an Olympian," Nedoroscik said. "It was the dream to be here and I’m just more than honored to be on this squad.”
The men's gymnastics competition begins on July 27.