Stephen Nedoroscik wins bronze medal in men's pommel horse final

As the United States men’s gymnastics team won its first medal since 2008, Stephen Nedoroscik went viral for his performance on the pommel horse. That helped set the stage for the pommel horse final on Saturday – and he brought home the bronze.

Nedoroscik turned in a 15.300 in the event to come in third. It’s the second time in three Olympics a U.S. athlete brought home a medal in the event, and it was the country’s 51st overall in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Rhys McClenaghan brought home the gold with a 15.533 while Nariman Kurbanov came in right behind him at 15.433 to lock up the silver. Nedoroscik’s 15.300 stood after the final gymnast fell off the pommel horse, which cemented a place on the podium for the America.

Stephen Nedoroscik finishes his pommel horse routine in the final and the crowd goes WILD! 👏 #ParisOlympics

📺 E! and Peacock pic.twitter.com/JbCPmqNJA7

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 3, 2024

Stephen Nedoroscik – who competes on the collegiate level at Penn State – is considered a pommel horse specialist and it was his only event during the all-around. It was also the last routine on the last rotation of the day for the U.S., meaning he had to sit in anticipation of the event for hours before scoring a 14.866 to help seal the bronze.

Nedoroscik quickly went viral as cameras caught him sitting against the wall with his eyes closed and got the nickname “Pommel Horse Guy” since it’s the only event in which he competed. In fact, someone compared him to Clark Kent because he wears glasses due to a rare eye condition, and he took it in stride.

“I think it’s cool,” Nedoroscik said. “I’m honored that they chose me, but I think any one of these guys could also be blowing up. In fact, I hope they do discover these guys because they’re all just great men.” 

Every member of Team USA played a role in the team bronze medal. Brody Malone and Paul Juda both scored strong pommel horse scores and had big performances throughout the competition. Asher Hong and Fred Richard – who compete at Stanford and Michigan, respectively – rounded out the team and shined in their respective events. Richard notably put together a strong performance in the horizontal bar, recording a score of 14.833.

The U.S. now has 51 total medals, including 11 golds. Simone Biles added another one to the tally in the women’s vault final Saturday morning, and Jade Carey took bronze with a strong showing of her own as the “Gold Rush” weekend got underway.

Dan Morrison contributed to this report.