“I'd black out in the middle of the routine”- Stephen Nedoroscik opens up on struggling under pressure while transitioning to specialist as a freshman

Stephen Nedoroscik recently reflected on the moments during competitions when stress became overwhelming, leading him to "blackout" in the middle of his routine. Before achieving the glorious feat of clinching two Olympic medals in the French capital, Nedoroscik secured the 2021 World Championship title.

During his freshman year in 2017, he secured the NCAA National Championship title on the pommel horse. Fast forward to 2024, he enjoyed an impressive Olympic campaign, emerging as the fan favorite.

He bagged a bronze medal in the men's pommel horse event after bagging a total of 15.300 points. To achieve this feat, he followed Mc Clenaghan Rhys and Kurbanov Nariman, who posted 15.533 and 15.433 points, respectively. In an interview with Lightweights Podcast with Joe Vulpis, he shared his experience of grappling with pressure during his transition to specializing in a single gymnastics event.

“When I was younger and I first became a specialist there's like this transition that happens when you go from doing six events to just the one and it's kind of just like you go from having six opportunities at a competition to just like a single opportunity," he said. (9:58 onwards)

As Nedoroscik started competing in a single event, which meant he only had a single opportunity, he started experiencing stress to the point of "blacking out" during routines.

"You only get this one chance and that carries a lot of pressure on it and when I was a freshman I just made that transition to specialist. It was like you know I'd go to these competitions, and it was like I'd black out in the middle of the routine I just could not handle the pressure."

"I'm pushing myself" - Stephen Nedoroscik aims to win the Dancing With The Stars show following his Paris Olympics success.

Stephen Nedoroscik posing with the Bronze medal following the Men's Pommel Horse final at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France. (Photo via Getty Images)

Fresh off his Paris Olympics victory, Stephen Nedoroscik has set his sights on winning the Dancing With The Stars show.

He is paired with Rylee Arnold to compete against other participants, including fellow Olympic medalist Ilona Maher. In the same interview with Joe Vulpis, he expressed his determination to push himself to perform challenging routines.

"I am going 100 percent," he said. "I might even be holding myself to too high of a standard because this is a fun experience and I want to impress people. I don't just want to go out there and do like a routine that has maybe, a little bit less steps because they are challenging. Like, I'm pushing myself to do whatever Rylee thinks is my level of difficulty."

Stephen Nedoroscik also secured a bronze medal with the team at the Paris Games.