Stephen Nedoroscik Explains What Was Going Through His Mind in Iconic Meme

Kristen Wong | Aug 14, 2024

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Yes, U.S. gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik has seen the memes of himself at the Paris Games. Even Simone Biles couldn’t resist the urge of showing him one during their stay at the Olympic Village.

Nedoroscik recently joined Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show” and talked about his memes, as well as his mindset surrounding his popularity surge this past summer, having basically turned into an overnight viral sensation after his pommel horse routine helped the U.S. men’s gymnastics squad clinch bronze in the team finals. 

In the immediate wake of his Olympic heroics, the 25-year-old said he had to turn his notifications off ahead of the men’s individual pommel horse final to avoid being “too absorbed” by it all. He also explained to Fallon exactly what he was thinking in that iconic meme.

“So after a really long day like that, where I’m waiting around five hours to finally compete and represent… Finally, when it got to horse, I needed to calm down,” Nedoroscik said (the 3:00 minute mark in the video). “So all I’m doing there is I’m tilting my head back and doing my breathing exercises and visualizing a lot, like 100 times.”

Along with his bronze medal from the team finals, Nedoroscik also clinched a bronze medal in the men’s pommel horse final, his first individual Olympic medal of his career. The two-time Olympic medalist shared a heartfelt message after his podium finishes and vowed to return to the international stage for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

The legend of “Pommel Horse Guy” will only continue to grow in the future.