Stephen Nedoroscik

Early life and education

Nedoroscik was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, to John Nedoroscik, a retired police officer, and Cheryl Nedoroscik, a client experience manager. He was raised in Indian Lake with an older sister and a twin sister. His paternal grandfather, a U.S. Navy veteran, served in World War II and the Korean War.

Nedoroscik is of Polish and Slovak descent. Born with strabismus and coloboma, he lacks depth perception and is sensitive to light, requiring eyeglasses and preventing him from driving; he also has asthma. He studied electro-mechanical engineering at Worcester Technical High School and earned a degree in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 2020.

Gymnastics career

Nedoroscik began gymnastics in 2003 and competed on all apparatuses before focusing on pommel horse in high school. He won the Junior Olympic national title on pommel horse in 2015 and 2016. Competing for Penn State from 2017, he became NCAA national champion on pommel horse as a freshman and finished seventh at the 2017 U.S. National Championships.

In 2018 he won the Big Ten title and defended his NCAA pommel horse title. At the 2019 Winter Cup he placed first on pommel horse, earning his first elite-level title and a spot on the national team. He made his international debut at the Doha World Cup, finishing sixth.

At the 2019 NCAA Championships he placed second on pommel horse. He was selected for the World University Games but did not advance to the final. At the 2019 U.S. National Championships he finished second on pommel horse, and ended the season eighth at the Cottbus World Cup.

In the media

Nedoroscik gained media attention at the 2024 Olympics, being called 'The Specialist' and 'Pommel Horse Guy'. His removal of eyeglasses before routines was compared to Clark Kent's transformation into Superman. After the Olympics, actor David Corenswet greeted him virtually. He appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the Today Show, and Watch What Happens Live!

He co-presented at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards. In September 2025, he and his family competed on Celebrity Family Feud against Jordan Chiles's family, winning $25,000 for Penn State Health.

During the 2026 Winter Olympics, curler Aidan Oldenburg was noted as his doppelgänger. Nedoroscik withdrew from the 2024 Gold Over America Tour to join season 33 of Dancing with the Stars, becoming the first male gymnast on the show; partnered with Rylee Arnold, he finished fourth. In 2025 he co-hosted the Dancing with the Stars: Live! tour.

Personal life

Nedoroscik lives in Sarasota, Florida. He was in a relationship with retired gymnast Tess McCracken from July 2016 until January 2026; they met as incoming freshmen at Penn State.

During competitions, he tugs his right ear as a non-verbal greeting to loved ones, a gesture originating as a signal to his grandfather. He enjoys chess, video games (especially Rocket League), sudoku, and solving the Rubik's Cube, with a personal record of 8.664 seconds. In May 2025 he participated in PogChamps 6, losing in the semi-finals to Eberechi Eze.