If you’ve been online these past few months, the name Stephen Nedoroscik probably rings a bell. Nedoroscik competed on the USA Men’s Gymnastics team at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Unlike the other athletes who did all types of events, Nedoroscik only participated in the pommel horse event – a pommel horse is a metal apparatus typically coated with leather, used for certain gymnastics routines. The athlete’s dedication to his specialty caught the attention of the internet, and he quickly went viral, earning the nickname “Pommel Horse Guy.”
The Olympian’s twin sister, Anastasia Nedoroscik (also known as Ms. Ned), happens to be a math teacher at CRLS. When asked about her brother’s successes, she was very happy to recount his journey to fame, telling the Register Forum, “He started [gymnastics] when we were about four. He was so rambunctious and had so much energy, so my parents put him straight into that.” Ms. Ned did gymnastics too, at one point, but ultimately preferred dance.
Ms. Ned recalled the stress she felt as her brother was qualifying for the Olympics. “I get so nervous on his behalf,” she told the Register Forum. “I remember watching the qualifying events on TV and I was shaking like a leaf – I was so nervous. But he stuck it, he hit it, and it was a big celebration! The fact that he made it to the Olympics was just beyond anything that I ever thought would happen.”
Her brother’s career path wasn’t a complete shock, Ms. Ned admitted. “It was always his main interest,” she told the Register Forum. “Our senior year of high school was when he won the Junior Olympics for pommel horse. When he was touring colleges, he knew that he was going to apply to schools where he could be on the gymnastics team.” He ultimately chose Penn State, a school that sent two other gymnasts to the 2024 Olympics.
Ms. Ned went on to explain her brother’s focus on pommel horse routines. “Early in college, he knew that he had a very special knack for [pommel horse], which is regarded as the hardest part of the men’s gymnastics. He was like, I should really just focus on this.” His decision was supported by his coach, she told the Register Forum. “His coach in college was like, you have this pommel horse thing, and we’re going to train the heck out of you, and you’re going to be the best in the world!”
Stephen Nedoroscik certainly isn’t a one trick pony; he’s also a trained engineer. “He’s always been really interested in STEM,” Ms. Ned told the Register Forum. “[Stephen] actually went to a trade school in high school, where he did electric and mechanical engineering. Then he majored in engineering for college, but he’s never used his degree.”
When asked if her brother would ever reconsider engineering, Ms. Ned shook her head, telling the Register Forum, “His job is legitimately pommel horse, it’s always been pommel horse.”
This article also appears in our September 2024 edition.
