"Before the Olympics, I changed my Steam name as Pommel Horse guy" - Stephen Nedoroscik on how his 'prophecy' led to his viral meme name

Stephen Nedoroscik, before his Olympic triumph, prophetically changed his Steam username to "pommel horse guy." This audacious prediction became reality when he clinched the bronze medal in the pommel horse event at the Paris Olympics, becoming the fourth American male gymnast to achieve this feat since World War II.

Besides his pommel horse skills, Nedoroscik turned heads with his Rubix cube-solving skills and bespectacled look at the Paris Olympics. Before stepping on the competition stage, the 25-year-old was also seen with his head tilting his head back and closing his eyes, sparking intrigue about his unusual way of gearing up. Competing in his signature event, the 25-year-old scored 15.300 to secure the bronze medal, becoming the first individual medalist for the US men's gymnastics team since the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Following his performance, Nedoroscik earned popularity as 'the pommel horse guy', the name he had previously kept as his Steam (an online gaming platform) name. During an appearance on the Lightweights Podcast with Joe Vulpis, he recalled how his prediction had unexpectedly become a reality.

"Before the Olympics, I changed my Steam name as 'pommel horse guy' and it's so crazy cuz it's like this self-fulfilling prophe cy that somehow managed to happen because after the Olympics people started to call me 'the pommel horse guy' and I was like well isn't that weird," Nedoroscik said. (46:20)

The Olympian hilariously shared that people don't recognize him as the original 'pommel horse guy' in the Rocket League.

"I'll be playing Rocket League and my thing is like 'the pommel horse guy' and people are like you're not him he's better than you. I'm like, I literally I told this one guy, 'I can guarantee you he is exactly as good as me.'"

Nedoroscik scored 14.866 on the pommel horse on the finals night and catapulted the men's gymnastics team to the coveted bronze, the first US gymnastics men's Olympic team medal since 2008.

---

Stephen Nedoroscik - "For the last eight years, or so, these legs have done nothing"

Stephen Nedoroscik performing on the pommel horse at the Olympic Games-Paris 2024 (Source: Getty)

Stephen Nedoroscik was the first celebrity to be named in Dancing With the Stars, where he won hearts courtesy of his performances with Rylee Arnold. However, he recently shared that his legs remained motionless for eight years because maneuvering on his best apparatus only involves hand movements.

"For the last eight years, or so, these legs have done nothing!" (via Live Kelly and Mark podcast) (0:47)

He also shared that dancing makes him nervous since he doesn't know how people will perceive it.

"It is obviously more nerve wracking when you have people relying on you to get a team medal, but like you know, I don't know how good I am at dance, I don't know how people are going to perceive it, so there is that nervous factor, and it's like 'Oh man, this is all new to me, I might mess it up," he added. (1:06)

The 25-year-old's impressive resume includes a gold medal in the pommel horse at the 2021 World Championships and a team gold medal at the 2023 Pan American Games, among other notable accomplishments.