"Affects my training a lot"- Stephen Nedoroscik opens up about struggling with eye conditions as he aimed to become a professional gymnast 

Stephen Nedoroscik opened up about his struggles with eye conditions as he trained to compete as a professional gymnast. The American athlete revealed how the health conditions had a profound impact on his training. However, he managed to endure through all the adversities to achieve success.

Nedoroscik recently concluded one of the most successful seasons of his career so far, which comprised two Olympic bronze medals. Moreover, along with incredible performances on the mat, the American gymnast also received the opportunity to participate in the popular show Dancing With the Stars, where he partnered with Rylee Arnold.

Despite not having prior professional experience as a dancer, Stephen Nedoroscik showcased remarkable improvements as the season of the dance reality show progressed and ultimately finished fourth in the grand finale. However, he had to face a lot of struggles in his journey and spoke about them in an interview with Sherri Shepherd this week.

"Yes, my condition, first of all, I have strabismus, which is when your eyes turn inward. I also have coloboma. Both of those do affect my training a lot. With Strabismus, I don't have any depth perception and with Colobama, I'm very sensitive to light. So in a lot of arenas and stuff it will be in my face and it's very uncomfortable at times but it's one of those things that I have gone through in this life and learn sort of how to direct myself through all these adversities."

Nedoroscik revealed that he was able to overcome the struggles with strong determination and by learning from his experiences.

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Stephen Nedoroscik on overcoming struggles to make history

Stephen Nedoroscik prepares for his performance at the 2024 Summer Olympics - Day 8 - Source: Getty

After the Paris Olympics, Stephen Nedoroscik took to Instagram on October 24, 2024, to reflect on a time when he made history by becoming the USA's first Pommel Horse World Champion. The American athlete shared how he was very sick before the World Championships in 2021 and missed multiple days of practice.

Moreover, adding to the adversity, Nedoroscik suffered a rare wrist injury during one of his performances hampering his chances of winning the crown. However, he endured the pain and remained determined to accomplish his goal of winning the title.

"Throwback to 3 years ago when I became USA’s first ever Pommel Horse World Champion 🌎🥇I was the sickest I had ever been leading up to this competition which made me miss 8 days of training and forced me to arrive 4 days late, as well as having the rarest wrist stress fracture during my performances (8th documented case🤯)," he wrote.

Nedoroscik revealed how there were multiple instances where he felt like giving up but his perseverance led him to make history at the World Championships.