Olympics gymnastics: Stephen 'Pommel Horse Guy' Nedoroscik wins bronze medal

Live updates: Follow AP’s coverage of the 2024 Olympics in Paris as Americans Simone Biles, Sha’Carri Richardson and Katie Ledecky all win medals.

Stephen Nedoroscik’s meticulous attention to details and rituals do not stop with his pommel horse routine.

Outside the gym, the American athlete can be obsessive, too.

So when he again solved his Rubik’s Cube in under 10 seconds on Saturday ahead of the pommel horse final at the Paris Olympics, he knew it was a good omen. He knew he could deliver a performance that would earn him another medal.

“After I solved it under 10 seconds before four team finals, solving it again under 10 seconds for this competition or today, I was like, all right, we got this,” the 25-year-old said.

Earlier this week, the pommel horse specialist played a crucial role in helping the U.S. men earn bronze in the team final, sealing the program’s first Olympic medal in 16 years with a lights-out routine.

Nedoroscik was sensational again under the roof of the Bercy Arena, flying over handles and traveling at ease from one side of the pommel horse to the other.

It was a tight contest, and Nedoroscik lost to two-time world champion Rhys McClenaghan of Ireland and Nariman Kurbanov of Kazakhstan. McClenaghan won with a score of 15.533, with Nedoroscik capping his memorable stay in Paris with 15.300 points.

While McClenaghan increased the difficulty of his routine, Nedoroscik tried some upgrades at training but finally opted against a change of plans. He also kept the same diet.

“We just continued to do the same ritual over and over again. I had six pieces of green apple in the morning with a chocolate muffin,” he said. “That was my breakfast. I just kept everything exactly the same.”

Specializing in a discipline that nobody knows outside gymnastics circles, the Worcester, Massachusetts, native who won two NCAA championships at Penn State, all of sudden has become a social media celebrity, with dozens of memes and pictures of him circulating in the virtual world.

Paris Olympics

“It is just that unbelievable, the amount of people who are reaching out, following me. They were going crazy. I mean,” he said. “I thought they were hilarious. I’m glad that