Stephen Nedoroscik: The "Pommel Horse Guy"

One Man. One Goal. One Vision.

Stephen Nedoroscik was by no means a household name at the start of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, but the internet sensation went viral for doing practically nothing for hours. He sat. He did a Rubik’s cube in less than ten seconds. He slept. And then he awoke, did his event majestically, and then retired to his seat.

Like a sleeper cell activated to do one job, Nedoroscik woke up from seemingly being half asleep, delivered his routine, safe in the knowledge he had won a medal for his team.

But why was this special? Why did Nedoroscik become so notorious for the use of his skill? There are thousands of other gymnasts in the sphere of the Olympic Games equally as adept, and talented as one of the USA team’s chosen weapons.

The answer lies in the context, and the strategy for selecting Nedoroscik in the first place.

The U.S. men’s gymnastics team, aiming for its first Olympic team medal since 2008, has adopted a new strategy. While all five team members qualified for the Games, not all competed in multiple events. Instead of filling all five team spots with "all-around" gymnasts who competed on every apparatus, the U.S. opted to dedicate one slot to a specialist: Nedoroscik. His focus was solely on the pommel horse, a notoriously challenging apparatus and a weak point for many teams.

This was the very definition of a superstrength. A specialist on one skill, refined to the needs of the team.

The fact he did it with such panache, such meme-ability in today’s internet age, made this application of a superstrength very visible indeed.