Pommel horse medalist making most of his social media moment :: WRALSportsFan.com
Everyone knows about gymnasts like Simone Biles or Suni Lee, but until this week, USA men’s gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik was hardly a household name. Names like “Gymnastics Clark Kent,” “Rubics Cube Guy” and “Pommel Horse Specialist” have all gone viral online for describing him in the past week.
He has been dubbed “Clark Kent” because of the way he takes off his glasses and performs a stellar routine, like how Clark Kent takes off his glasses to become Superman. He has also gone viral for being able to solve a Rubik’s Cube in under 10 seconds and being a nerdy electrical engineering major.
“I still can’t believe the amount of people that are making memes and sending me things,” Nedoroscik. “It has been the coolest thing ever. I mean Simone Biles yesterday came up to me and said, ‘Look at this meme of you’, and it’s just all so surreal.”
He won bronze Saturday in the pommel horse event.
This also happens to be the only event he competes in. This was his second medal of the week after helping his team to bronze in the team finals on Monday as the last one to perform on pommel horse.
His online traction is bringing interest to men’s gymnastics.
“I’m beyond excited that people are getting interested in men’s gymnastics, and I hope they continue to support,” he said.
His success is also bringing awareness to his rare eye condition called strabismus. He said he wants his ability to deal with condition to be an inspiration for others like him, like a little boy he got a picture with this week with the same condition.
“I just hope that people that are like me and have those difficulties can see that anything is possible,” Nedoroscik said. “So to all them, I hope you chase your dreams.”
Nedoroscik and the gold medalist for Saturday’s pommel horse event Ireland’s Rhys McClenaghan said they have been friends for a long time. The pommel horse gold medalist expressed in a press conference how excited he was about the attention Nedoroscik is getting.
“I absolutely love that everyone’s finding out about Steven Nedoroscik,” McClenaghan said.
Before Nedoroscik left for Paris, no one outside of gymnastics knew who he was. Now when he returns, he’ll be an internet sensation with two bronze medals.
Source: wralsportsfan.com