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2024 Olympics: Who is Pommel Horse Gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik? Meet the Viral Star!
It’s not a bird, nor a plane, nor even Superman—it’s Stephen Nedoroscik on the pommel horse.
And yes, he and his longtime girlfriend Tess McCracken (also a fellow gymnast) have seen the many memes created after Stephen’s bronze-winning performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics—and they love them.
“My favorite so far has been the ‘and your friends Steve, do-do-do-do-do-do-do Steve,’” Tess told E! News in an exclusive interview of the viral Garfunkel and Oates TikTok sound. “I love that one.”
She added, “There was also one where he takes off his glasses and he turns into game six LeBron [[James]or he’s the kicker that’s just on the sidelines the whole game who shows up and clinches the win with a 60-yard field goal. I love those. We also got the Duolingo Owl tweeting about him, which was crazy.”
In fact, crazy is a word both Tess and her boyfriend—who she’s been dating since they met at Penn State eight years ago—would use to describe the sky-rocketing level of attention they’ve received.
“The last few days have been an absolute whirlwind,” Tess—a specialist on balance beam, uneven bars and floor who trained with Simone Biles’ coaches—explained. “I knew his life was about to change, but I was not expecting to see so much come my way. And it’s been really lovely, but I can’t say I expected that.”
Tess McCracken/Instagram
Nor did she anticipate the amount of love Stephen, 25, would receive after the world watched him whip off his signature glasses and serve up a 15.200 performance on the pommel horse—the highest of any competitor during the men’s gymnastics final—and clinch the team’s third-place finish.
But it wasn’t until hours after the event, when the pommel horse hero met up with his loved ones for dinner, that Stephen even began to learn he’d become an international sensation.
“He was just taken aback,” Tess recalled to E!. “Because he was in the arena, he barely had his phone. He got to the restaurant that we were at but he only had 20 minutes to show up, eat and get back on a bus to go back to the village.”
So in that small window of opportunity, Tess attempted to convey exactly how big a phenomenon he’d become. “I was trying to show him things, like, ‘You’re a meme, you are viral. Look at all this stuff,’” she said. “And he loved them. He laughed at them. And at that point, they were just starting. We didn’t know that what it was about to turn into.”
Now, with just days before Stephen’s individual pommel horse final August 3, it’s game time.
“He is trying to get locked in,” she noted. “He had a lot of appearances and, as of today, he put his foot down and said, ‘I need to focus and get back dialed in. I’m only training from here on out.’”
That is, until he wraps the Olympics—then it’ll be a relaxing summer spent together in Florida.
“We can go to the beach, go do some adventures,” she shared, “and then starting in early September, he’ll be off to the Gold Over America tour with Simone Biles and the group. So he’ll be gone for about two more months once he’s back.”
Though they’ll be apart, “I’m really excited for all of it,” Tess said. “And at the end of the day, it’s definitely worth it.”
For more couples worthy of a gold medal, read on…
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Hunter Woodhall and Tara Davis-Woodhall (USA)
Hunter Woodhall was born without fibulae, a condition called fibular hemimelia, and was 11 months old when he underwent a double amputation—but the physical challenge did not slow him down.
The Georgia native met Tara Davis-Woodhall at a high school track meet in Idaho 2017. And, as he recalled in a YouTube video, “I was like, ‘Damn, that girl’s fine. I’m gonna marry that girl.'”
They weren’t together from that moment on, Tara being from California, but chemistry and following each other’s rising careers on social media did the trick. The pair got engaged after the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021 and wed in October 2022 at a Texas vineyard. But while they both competed in Tokyo, they couldn’t cheer each other on in person due to COVID-19 restrictions. So you can imagine how excited they are for Paris.
“This is what we’ve been working on. And this is what we’ve been waiting for,” Tara told E! News in May. “And it’s going to be a special moment for sure.”
Noah Lyles/TikTok
Noah Lyles and Junelle Bromfield
After less-than-golden finishes in Tokyo, Noah Lyles and Junelle Bromfield are sprinting for gold in Paris.
In the meantime, the track and field stars are living their best lives on TikTok, Noah making a deal with his girlfriend of almost two years in a recent video: “We go to the Olympics, I win every race, you win every race, we come back as the most winningest couple.”
She added, “I see that baby… I’m picking up what you’re putting there and I won’t drop it. I got the vision… I’m ready to make it happen. We are going to be the most winningest couple.”
Lee Kiefer/Instagram
Lee Kiefer and Gerek Meinhardt (USA)
We’re not sure if arguments are settled with swords at home, but Lee Kiefer and Gerek Meinhardt have had each other’s back for more than a decade.
“She pushes me in ways to help me out of my comfort zone, her intensity inspires me,” Gerek, who met Lee in 2012 and married her in September 2019, told TeamUSA.com. “And I try to help her find the balance of not overdoing things. It’s about reaching your potential, and I think we bring a lot to each other in different ways.”
When his wife qualified for Paris, Gerek wrote on Instagram, “Words can’t describe how bad she wanted this, how hard she worked, or how proud of her I am,” while Lee wrote when he punched his ticket, “So proud!! My man fenced beautifully.”
In addition to being champion athletes, they’re are also future doctors. They pressed pause on medical school after their second year at University of Kentucky to focus on training for Tokyo, but plan to resume their studies in 2025.
Alise Willoughby/Instagram
Alise Willoughby and Sam Willoughby (USA, Australia)
Adelaide native Sam Willoughby32, was Alise Post‘s fan from afar before he managed to meet her through MySpace. “Eventually,” he quipped to USA Today Sports in 2020, “I busted my way into her top friends list.”
Alise invited Sam to visit her in California and the rising BMX racing stars realized they wanted to ride tandem forever. He popped the question in December 2015 after eight years together.
When a devastating training crash in 2016, nine months after he proposed, ended Sam’s career and rendered him a quadriplegic, Alise was by his side throughout his recovery. “You’re not marrying a vegetable,” he recalled telling her as a way of letting her know she could pedal on without him. To which she replied, “You’re not a vegetable and the hell I’m not marrying you. You’re stuck with me.'”
While he still uses a wheelchair, Sam—now his wife’s coach—has defied expectations, managing to walk down the aisle wearing braces at their 2019 wedding.
“After the accident, I knew I wanted to be his rock from the word go,” Alise said. “Now, he’s my rock when I’m racing. It’s kind of come full circle.”
Ashley Kovacs/Instagram
Joe Kovacs and Ashley Kovacs (USA)
Ashley Kovacsa four-time All-American in shot put at University of Kentucky, has coached her husband Joe Kovacs since 2019 and in February was named 2024 Paris Olympics Women’s Throw Coach.
Married since Nov. 18, 2023, the Kovacs have produced far more than a pile of shiny hardware: They welcomed twins I can and Kaariin October 2022.
“Everything is about them all the time, so we train when they nap,” Ashley told WCMHexplaining why they have a shot put ring in the yard of their Ohio home. “We wanted to be able to have space where we could put a ring at our house so when they were down for a nap, that we could do what we needed to do.”
Added Joe, “Never have been happier in my life with my wife to the kids. It’s the best life I could’ve ever wished for.”
Gabriella Willems/Instagram
Gabriella Willems and Christian Parlati (Belgium, Italy)
“We’ve supported each other for seven years, and sharing this moment is a dream come true,” judo star Gabriella Willemswho got injured before the last Games, told Olympics.com of getting to experience Paris with fellow judoka Christian Parlatiwho competed in Tokyo. “Hopefully, July 31st [the day of their respective finals] will be a happy day filled with tears of joy for both of us.”
Jason Koerner/Getty Images for AYS Sports Marketing
Katie Boulter and Alex De Minaur (Great Britain, Australia)
After qualifying for Tokyo in 2021, tennis player Alex De Minaur had to drop out after testing positive for COVID, so he and Katie Boulter—who played mixed doubles at Wimbledon together in 2023—will both be making their Olympic debuts in Paris.
Alex joked during a post-match interview in January after he was shown a sweet comment Katie left on his Instagram, “I’m actually surprised she said something nice about me. Normally every time she goes on social media to reply to my posts or whatever, it’s always having a dig at me. So it’s nice every now and again to get a compliment.”
Katie may have a cheeky sense of humor—”(calm down not engaged…just the only finger that ring fits),” she wrote on a March post marking four years with Alex—but their love is game, set, match.
In fact, she knew over an impromptu cup of coffee after they ran into each other at 6 a.m. while staying at the same hotel that he was the one.
“Growing up, I was always super-close to my grandpa,” she told The Age in June. “I always said to myself that if I can find someone who has half his heart, I’ll be the luckiest woman in the world. I’ve found that person in Alex.”
Lara Vadlau/Instagram
Lea Schüller and Lara Vadlau (Germany, Austria)
Lea Studentwho plays forward for Bayern Munich, will be making her Olympic debut with the German women’s soccer team. And not only can two-time Olympic sailor Lara Vadlau show her the ropes (and tie them into nautical knots), Paris will give them the opportunity to be in the same city for three whole weeks.
“I find it really helpful because both of us understand what you have to do for your sport,” Lara, who’s a doctor in her spare time, said in an interview for her partner’s footoball club, “that you’re away a lot and don’t see each other that often.”
Added Lea, “We often only see each other for three to five days at a time. It’s a bit like a long-distance relationship. Not because we live in different places—we live together in Munich—it’s just one of us is always away.”
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Rossella Fiamingo and Gregorio Paltrinieri (Italy)
“I am excited as if I am the one competing,” fencer Rossella Fleming told Olympics.com of watching her fiancé in the pool—or, if he competes in the 10K open water swim in Paris—the River Seine.
And Gregory Paltrinieri is all in on Rossella’s sport, too, which he called “beautiful to watch.” After adding another gold and silver to his tally at the 2023 World Swimming Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Gregorio made a surprise stop in Milan to catch the team épée final at the World Fencing Championships.
“Rossella didn’t know, she was shocked,” he told Olympics.comafterward. “She asked me last night [about being there] and I told her I was exhausted.”
Well, he may be a trickster, but he’s also her No. 1 supporter.
Knowing Rossella was disappointed the Italian team only won silver, Gregorio added, “There are races in which you can do better and others worse, but it’s part of the journey. It happens to me too, but I never lose faith. This is what I will tell her, not to lose faith.”
FERENC ISZA/AFP via Getty Images
Dominik Cerny and Hana Burzalova (Slovakia)
Dominik Cerny had Paris in mind when he proposed to Hana Burzalova at the finish line of the women’s 35km race at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest last August.
“We have been together for almost one Olympic cycle, almost four years,” he told Olympics.com afterward, “so I think it was the right time.”
They weren’t speed-walking to the altar, he added, but “maybe we will decide only two days in advance. We like to do random things. At the Paris Olympics maybe we will start as the Cerny family—maybe in the new event, the race walk relay.”
Way to keep the world on its toes while keeping one foot in contact with the ground at all times.
Gael Monfils/Instagram
Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils (Ukraine, France)
Tennis champs Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfilsmarried since 2021, have both done this whole Olympics thing before, but it’s the first time they’ve done it as parents, welcoming daughter Sky in October 2022.
“She’s a great mother first,” Gael told reporters at the Miami Open in March 2023 after he and his wife had made the second round. “That’s first. People want to put tennis first but I think she’s a great mother first. This is the most important for me as her husband because of course we are a tennis couple but life is beyond our sport.”
Elina has also stressed that she’s more than a tennis player, telling TIMEin April, “I feel like I have the opportunities to help and also play for Ukrainian people, with their unbreakable spirit. Each time I step on the court, each time that I play a tennis match, I represent the Ukrainian people and their strength.”
João Chianca/Instagram
João Chianca and Luana Silva (Brazil)
The men’s and women’s surfing events are taking place at Teahupo’o on Tahiti, more than 9,500 miles away from Paris and the rest of the Games—but at least John ChiancaandLuana Silva will have each other!
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