"In a perfect world, I would've competed this set"- Olympic medalist Stephen Nedoroscik shares glimpses of training the 'hardest' pommel horse routine

Stephen Nedoroscik made his Olympic debut at the Paris Games and was absolutely phenomenal in his performances. He helped the nation end a 16-year-long medal drought in the men's team event and even claimed an individual bronze. Recently, the American revealed that he competed in a scaled-down pommel horse routine at the Olympics, and shared a video of him performing the ‘hardest’ routine in the world.

Nedoroscik, a pommel horse specialist, was in Paris to compete in only his chosen event. The 25-year-old is a world champion on this particular piece of equipment and helped the US claim bronze in the team finals in Paris by acing his routine. He then went on to claim an individual pommel horse bronze.

Now, Stephen Nedoroscik has revealed that a year before the Paris Olympics, he was training the ‘hardest' routine in the world, with the difficulty of that particular routine being a 6.9. However, he chose to compete at the Games with a routine that had a difficulty of 6.4 to optimize medal chances but hinted at bringing back the tougher routine for LA 2028.

Taking to Instagram, the gymnast wrote,

“Throwback to a year ago when I was training the HARDEST routine in the world. The difficulty of this routine was a 6.9, whereas I medaled at the Olympics with a 6.4. In a perfect world I would've competed this set, but the world isn't perfect and I had to make the hard, but smart, decision to downgrade my routine for my team. I have four years to grind so who knows what level of difficulty I'll have by then!”

Stephen Nedoroscik shares his thoughts on his Paris Olympics performance

Stephen Nedoroscik on winning bronze at the Paris Olympics (Image Source: Getty)

After his spectacular performance at the Paris Olympics, Stephen Nedoroscik was elevated to celebrity status amongst fans. While already a famous figure in the world of gymnastics, the 25-year-old quickly became popular with audiences that didn't watch the sport, as he was dubbed the ‘pommel horse guy'.

Reflecting on his performance at the Games, Nedoroscik stated that he felt like the team had successfully put men's gymnastics on the map, writing on Instagram,

“My Olympic Games is complete and what a journey it's been. We came here on a mission to put USA Men's Gymnastics back on the map and with the first team medal in 16 years I think we've accomplished just that. My goal was to be the best for my team and I found myself lucky enough to perform in the Pommel Horse final. Without a doubt the most stacked Pommel Horse final in history, and I managed to grab a piece of the podium placing third Games.”

“Thank you to everybody who has supported me throughout my journey. I am just a man shaped by those who surround me, I couldn't have done it without any of you. Onto the next chapter... #2028,” he added.

After the Olympic Games, Stephen Nedoroscik has gone on to explore multiple new ventures. The gymnast presented the ‘Outstanding Direction of a Drama’ award at the Emmys and is currently competitive on Dance with the Stars.