ANN ARBOR, MI – Stephen Nedoroscik, born with a rare eye condition that left him with no depth perception and an extreme sensitivity to light, captured the hearts of Americans after winning two bronze medals at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
The 25-year-old Massachusetts native has strabismus, a condition that affects eye muscles, causing the eyes to not line up properly and point in different directions, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
The condition makes it extremely difficult for children to become athletes, Dr. Christopher Gappy, an ophthalmologist at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center, said. About 4% of children younger than 6 years old are diagnosed with strabismus, medical officials have said. Nedoroscik is a rare case, Gappy said.
“Those athletes are like unicorns. They’re super rare,” Gappy said.
Nedoroscik is a member of the United States men’s gymnastics team and specializes in the pommel horse event. He became just the fourth American man since World War II to win an Olympic medal on the apparatus. The United States’ bronze medal in the team event was the first Olympic team medal for the U.S. since 2008.
He began his gymnastics career in 2003 and competed on all apparatuses, before specializing in the pommel horse event.
The Penn State alumnus has inspired Gappy, and the doctor’s Kellogg Eye Center patients. He’s already used Nedoroscik’s story to comfort patients with strabismus.
“Having an example like Stephen is perfect for children, because everyone is watching the Olympics now, including my kids,” Gappy said. “And everyone saw him wear his glasses, take his glasses off, put them back on, and people who are watching them on Tiktok understand that he has this eye muscle condition.”
Before Nedoroscik begins his routine, he removes his glasses to balance himself. The gymnast said the glasses would fly off if he kept them on.
“When I go up on the pommel horse, it’s all about feeling the equipment. I don’t even really see when I’m doing my gymnastics. It’s all in the hands — I can feel everything,” Nedoroscik told USA Today.
Social media clips of Nedoroscik removing his glasses and centering himself before hopping on the pommel horse for his routine have gone viral. He’s earned the nickname “pommel horse guy” on social media. Fans have likened him to Clark Kent, the alter-person for Superman.
Gappy said he hopes Nedoroscik’s story will inspire further research and awareness. The gymnastic events are over at the Olympics, meaning Nedoroscik’s Paris run is over.
“It’s been so inspirational,” he said. “How rare is it for someone to mention the terms strabismus and coloboma, and I’ve heard it 1000s of times in the last week because of his condition.”
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