One fall changed everything… Stephen Nedoroscik’s bid to return to Team USA unraveled with one brutal fall on the pommel horse.

After looking like his old self on Night 1, the pommel horse specialist returned to the apparatus with a Team USA spot within reach. But then, Nedoroscik came off the horse on Saturday night, per reports, turning a promising comeback into a heartbreaking finish at the Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Phoenix.

His two-day score of 28.366 left him well behind Patrick Hoopes, who strengthened his position as America’s leading pommel horse contender.

For Nedoroscik, the result is especially difficult to swallow…

Just two years ago, he became one of the biggest stories of the Paris Olympics. His near-perfect pommel horse routine helped the United States secure its first men’s Olympic team medal in 16 years. The glasses, the calm demeanor, and, most importantly, the routine made him an overnight sensation.

This time, though, the same apparatus brought a very different feeling. Nedoroscik had been fighting his body as much as his rivals in the build-up to nationals. A right shoulder injury had limited his preparation, while he was still working his way back from October 2025 surgery after suffering a double labrum tear and cartilage damage in his right hip.

“The hip is pain-free now,” he had said in a TikTok post last month, but the rest of the road back was hardly straightforward. “My job is cool except for all the chronic injuries.”

Even so, there had been reason for optimism. He won a qualifying competition in late June and managed to return to routine training only weeks before nationals. He knew he wasn’t entering Phoenix at his best, but he was willing to take the risk.

“I’d be a big stinky liar if I said this has been a fun process,” he admitted earlier this week. “It’s one I will learn from regardless though.”

That honesty made Saturday’s fall sting even more…

Nedoroscik had already shown glimpses of the gymnast who captivated Paris. But on the second night, one mistake was enough to put his Team USA hopes in serious danger. With Hoopes now sitting atop the American pecking order, Nedoroscik will have to watch the next chapter from home. He had missed out on qualification.

There was another frustrating moment earlier in the competition when a scoring-system outage stopped the fourth rotation for around 15 minutes. Nedoroscik could only watch as the delay interrupted the flow of the night.

“I cannot believe that just happened wow,” he tweeted afterward.

But the scoring glitch wasn’t what decided his fate. The pommel horse did.
And perhaps that’s the hardest part for a gymnast whose entire reputation was built around mastering that one event.

Before nationals, Nedoroscik had made it clear that he wasn’t ready to walk away. He turns 28 in October and plans to remain ‘Pommel Horse Guy’ for as long as his body allows.

For Nedoroscik, Saturday was another failure. But his story isn’t necessarily finished yet.