By Sarah Firth/USAG Creator Program
As double Olympic bronze medalist and four-time U.S. champion, Stephen Nedoroscik prepared to return to competition at the 2025 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships in New Orleans, Louisiana, he reflected on a storybook ending to 2024 and a relatively late start to his return to competition in 2025. Through it all, he has his eyes set on the horizon of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Clinching the team bronze and then doubling back to win pommel horse bronze in Paris was just the start of Nedoroscik’s rocket boost into the world of mainstream celebrity. He returned from Paris to become the first male gymnast to compete on Dancing with the Stars, appearing in Season 33 with partner Rylee Arnold and making it to the season finale, where the duo placed fourth. He also co-hosted the Dancing with the Stars nationwide tour, which kept him off the pommel horse until the spring. In April, he resumed training at EVO Gymnastics in Sarasota, Florida.
“I’ve always told myself, ‘I want to be done with the sport when my body is done with the sport,’ and I’m still getting better,” said Nedoroscik. “I feel like I’d be doing myself a dishonor to not see how far I could go.”
At the Championships in New Orleans, he dipped his toes back into competition with nothing but positive support from his fans. “Being able to hear people cheer and root me on … this is what you do this for,” Nedoroscik said after the first day of competition. “Seeing these (kids) look up to me, doing a horse routine for them and hearing them cheer. It’s seriously amazing seeing how the community is backing not only me but the rest of the guys here. I’m more than happy to take pictures and sign (autographs) with them.”
After placing fifth in New Orleans, Nedoroscik now returns to the gym to double down on getting back to the gymnastics that has been the center of his daily life and goal-setting, with his focus firmly on three years in the future.
“I’m going to continue going,” he said. “L.A. [2028 Olympics] would be amazing, so I want to shoot for that.”
Until he hit the cultural big-time, the single-event specialist had to make ends meet through a combination of support from USA Gymnastics’ athlete tier funding, the USA Gymnastics Foundation, and his club, EVO Gymnastics. Unlike many gymnasts, Nedoroscik didn’t have a full scholarship while competing in college and graduated with a significant amount of student loan debt. Earning a salary to train and compete after college is what kept him in gymnastics—and ultimately made it possible for him to still be in the sport when the 2024 Olympics came around.
The Massachusetts native moved from Penn State to Florida to train with EVO, but living and training in Florida as a post-collegian does come with its challenges for Nedoroscik, even with his finances now on more solid footing. Due to vision issues with depth perception and bright headlights, Nedoroscik does not currently hold a driver’s license and is unsure whether he will be eligible to obtain one in the future. Nedoroscik lives a 30-minute drive from the gym and figuring out daily transportation to and from training is still an ongoing challenge with the lack of public transport options in the city.
“As of recently I’ve been Uber-ing [each day], which is not the best long-term solution,” he laughed.
Outside of the gym, Nedoroscik is internationally known for his Rubik’s Cube prowess and is also a keen chess player – most recently competing in a celebrity chess competition hosted by chess.com called PogChamps 6 in late April to early May. Nedoroscik made it to the semifinals of the championship bracket, winning an $8,000 cash prize, before being eliminated by Premier League athlete Ebere Eze, the competition’s eventual champion. His lifetime highest rating on chess.com peaked near 1300 and currently stands at approximately 1150 .
“At times, I had really cool moves that really impressed the judge or the actual chess grandmasters that were commentating [the competition], which I was really proud of,” said Nedoroscik .
Back in the gym, he spoke about an unusual strategy he uses to maintain his strength while training: a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream before bed every night.
“I’ve always been a snacker throughout my life, and it’s how I grew up. But, when I got to college, a lot of people were like, ‘Hey, dude, you should like, eat healthier’… So, I ate healthier and lost like 15 pounds,” said Nedoroscik. “I quickly realized maybe having some sort of a calorie boost throughout my day is a good thing, and for me over the years, I just found that a nice bowl of ice cream at night is enough to keep me maintaining my weight.”
It seems the simple solution worked. In addition to his Olympic success, Nedoroscik was named the USA Gymnastics Athlete of the Year at the 2025 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships. With yet another competition under his belt, Nedoroscik stays focused on 2028.