Stephen Nedoroscik is the bespectacled, pommel horsing breakout meme star of the Olympics

The Summer Olympic Games have given birth to plenty of global stars and athletic icons.

The United States has been fortunate enough to be the home of several iconic Olympians, including Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis, Michael Phelps, and Simone Biles. Others, such as Noah Lyles, are currently making their mark on history. But every once in a while, an unexpected star arises — and that's exactly what happened at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

The U.S. men's gymnastics team was on the brink of winning their first Olympic medal since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, with only the dreaded pommel horse event standing in their way. For years, the pommel horse had kept Team USA from the podium for years, but an American hero finally arose to tame it.

U.S. men's gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik became an unlikely hero

Team USA men's gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik was only in Paris for one event: the pommel horse. Only competing in one Olympic event meant Nedoroscik had to wait three hours before his moment to shine. In that span, while he sat on the sidelines in his square-framed glasses, the 25-year-old from Worcester, Massachusetts won over the hearts of the internet.

NBC Sports constantly panned to Nedoroscik, who remained the biggest factor in Team USA breaking their 16-year medal drought. The "nerdy" gymnast looked more like a college student than an Olympian as he joked with his teammates on the sidelines.

Before the biggest moment of his athletic career, the "pommel horse guy" caught the attention of fans for taking a peaceful nap. In reality, he was meditating, as athletes often do to calm themselves down before high-stress moments — but why let reality get in the way of a good story?

Nedoroscik eventually awoke from his slumber for the pommel horse. Before the routine, he took off his glasses and suddenly morphing from Clark Kent into Superman.

Nedoroscik knew how well he did as soon as he dismounted and he immediately began celebrating with his teammates.

Nedoroscik scored 14.866, helping Team USA earn a bronze medal with a total score of 257.793. They fell slightly short of China, who won the silver medal with a total score of 259.062. Japan took the gold medal with a total score of 259.594.

While it wasn't a gold medal, Nedoroscik's performance was enough to get men's gymnastics back on the podium for Team USA.

Nedoroscik may have made the performance look effortless, but his dedication to the pommel horse has been traced back as far as high school. Nedoroscik didn't have a single scholarship offer, but he attended Penn State to work with gymnastics coach Randy Jepson, according to The Athletic.

Nedoroscik was an electrical engineering major, but he also won two national titles as a pommel horse specialist. His first attempt at an Olympic berth ended in disaster — he fell on the first day of competition during trials and failed to make the team after finishing third.

After dismounting, Nedoroscik put his glasses back on and went to collect his medal.