Job done. Pommel horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik delivers for U.S gymnastics team in Paris

PARIS (AP) — Stephen Nedoroscik did his job for the U.S. men’s gymnastics team at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, nailing his one routine and then focusing on cheering and delivering water to his teammates.

With no room for mistake and about 45 seconds to make an impression on judges, the pommel horse specialist - who does not compete on other apparatuses - not only delivered, he excelled.

“It went really well today, I handled the nerves very well,” Nedoroscik said. “I worked my whole life up to those 45 seconds.”

Competing at his first Olympics, the 25-year-old former pommel horse world champion was so good during qualification that he edged two-time Olympic champion Max Whitlock of Britain with a 15.200 to his British rival’s 15.166.

Both men will compete again in the apparatus’ final next week.

Under the roof of the Palais Omnisports, Nedoroscik, took on his job on the pommel horse after three U.S teammates, Paul Juda, Frederick Richard and Brody Malone. After Malone fell, Nedoroscik, a Worcester, Massachusetts, native who won two NCAA championships at Penn State, was under even greater pressure to deliver.

“This is just another day of doing the gymnastics,” said Nedoroscik, chuckling. “Sure it’s the biggest stage in the world. It only happens once every four years, but at the same time I’m putting chalk on my hands and doing the horse for the team, it’s nothing different.”

Nedoroscik — the only specialist in the U.S. team — has chosen to focus on just what it does the best, honing his pommel horse skills to perfection. His four U.S. pommel horse titles are tied for the most in history.

“He did fantastic,” said Brett McLure, the director of high performance at USA Gymnastics.

Nedoroscik will also feature in the Olympic team’s final, when three men per country compete on each apparatus and all three scores count.

After his routine, he was the team's most vocal supporter on the sidelines.

“I love to cheer on people, so that’s another reason I love starting on horse, because I can get rid of the energy that I needed to do my routine and then immediately dump the rest and then cheering all the guys on, carrying their bags running around getting waters,” he said.

Pommel horse is an apparatus the American men have historically struggled with, but Nedoroscik has loved it since childhood. He practiced on it for hours after his parents installed one in the backyard.

In 2021, Nedoroscik became the first U.S. gymnast to win a world championship gold medal on pommel horse.

Nedoroscik is well known in gymnastics circles for the goggles he sometimes wore while competing. He did not wear them on Saturday.

“They’re more for show than anything,” he said. “They don’t have prescription in them. We’ll see if they make an appearance in one of the next couple of competitions I have."

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games